Washing the Dirty Linen of the “Dallah” in Public?

 By Shriya Maini*

The dispute arose out of a contract between Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Company, a Saudi Arabian company and the Government of Pakistan to provide housing in Saudi Arabia for Pakistani pilgrims to Mecca.

Divergent decisions of the French[1] and English[2] courts on the Dallah case reiterate that the enforcement of arbitral awards under the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award, 1958 (“NYC”) is not as straightforward in practice as it is in principle. In this essay, I elucidate the law laid down by the two incompatible judgments rendered by two different national courts in the Dallah case and conclude that the French Court’s approach was most satisfactory.

Argentina – Financial Services: will the AB’s reasoning finally shed light on the “Likeness” analysis under the GATS?

In the recent case Argentina – Financial Services the Appellate Body (“AB”) established, for the very first time in the history of the WTO disputes settlement, the examination of the “likeness” under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (“GATS”). In particular, the dispositions at issue were Art. II:1 and Article XVII:1 of the GATS, respectively the Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment, and the National Treatment. Needless to say, the concept of “likeness” under the GATS has been explored by WTO panels, but without successfully achieving consistent interpretations. Will the AB’s reasoning in Argentina – Financial Services clarify the meaning of “likeness” under the GATS?

Interview: Ms. Samira Sulejmanovic, Head of Unit for Bilateral Trade Relations, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Ms. Samira Sulejmanovic is the Head of Unit for Bilateral Trade Relations, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia & Herzegovina. She oversees the negotiation and implementation of international agreements (trade and economic cooperation, FTAs and PTAs, bilateral investment promotion agreements) and monitors and studies the conditions and various phenomena in bilateral trade cooperation.

Third Party Funding in International Arbitration: Problems & Recent Developments

By Shivansh Jolly

With the passing of time, the concept of third party funding in international arbitration has started attracting attention, and has consequently attained considerable significance. The concept involves providing monetary assistance by a third party (stranger to arbitration) to one of the parties to the concerned arbitration, generally supported by a formalized agreement laying down the terms and conditions governing the assistance provided.[1] Such agreements may entail a pre-decided incentive for a funder in the instance of a favourable award with respect to the party funded, such as remuneration to the extent of a fixed percentage of the award. The need for third party funding usually arises in cases where either the Complainant or the Respondent is financially incapable of bearing the expenses arising out of the dispute, more importantly, the costs following a possible adverse award. Another possible scenario which may invite third party funding may be an instance where a favourable result of a dispute benefits the funder in question, either directly or indirectly.