The Emergency Arbitrator – Getting Interim Relief Before a Tribunal is Constituted

In today’s guest post, Jakob Horn summarizes his doctoral thesis on key legal issues around emergency arbitration, Der Emergency Arbitrator und die ZPO, published by Mohr Siebeck. Jakob primarily discusses the emergency arbitrator in the context of German law. Despite this focus, his findings are easily transferrable to other jurisdictions, as Germany has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration

In commercial life, from time to time conflicts arise that require prompt action to avoid irrevocable harm. For instance, imagine a scenario where a business agreed on a non-compete clause with a former business partner. A violation of this non-compete clause would pose an immediate danger to the business, requiring prompt enforcement.

Traditionally, most state courts offer injunctions in such circumstances. However, in the commercial world today, parties often opt for an arbitration clause for reasons such as confidentiality. How does one uphold these arbitration agreements as well as seek urgent relief?

The answer is the emergency arbitrator. In the last 14 years, most large arbitral institutions around the world, such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) have introduced the emergency arbitrator as a tool in their toolbox to deal with such urgent cases. Continue reading

Civil Justice and Private International Law: EU Commission Issues No-Deal Brexit Gudiance

On 27 August 2020, the EU Commission published an updated “Notice to Stakeholders on the Withdrawal of the United Kindgom and EU Rules in the Field of Civil Justice and Private International Law”. Continue reading

Call for Papers: German Conference for Young Private International Law Scholars, 19/20 March 2021

The third German Conference for Young Private International Law Scholars will be held at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg on 19 and 20 March 2021. While is is still some time away, the deadline for submissions under the call for papers is just around the corner, on 20 September 2020. Here’s from the organising committee:

“We are particularly happy that Angelika Nußberger, former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, has agreed to deliver the keynote lecture of the conference. We are equally grateful to Roxana Banu (Queen Mary University of London), Hans van Loon (former Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law) and Ralf Michaels (Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law), who have agreed to participate in the concluding panel discussion. The theme of the conference is “Private International Law for a better world: Vision – Reality – Aberration?”

See here for more details.