The ICC International Court of Arbitration recently announced that it will begin issuing reasoned decisions on such issues as arbitrator challenges, consolidation of arbitrations, and prima facie decisions on jurisdiction.

In its press release, the ICC Court cited growing user demand as a reason for communicating reasons for administrative decisions. According to ICC Court President Alexis Mourre, the move reflects the ICC Court’s desire to enhance transparency and clarity of the ICC arbitration process.

The Court noted that any requests for communication of reasons must be made in advance of the relevant decision in […]

As recently reported by Global Arbitration Review (paid site), the Nigerian Court of Appeal (the second highest court in Nigeria) has handed down two decisions in which it held that Nigerian courts have no jurisdiction to issue injunction orders to restrain or otherwise intervene in arbitral proceedings, except as provided for in Nigeria’s Arbitration and Conciliation Act (ACA).

Through these decisions, the Nigerian Court of Appeal unmistakably seeks to establish Nigeria as a pro-arbitration and business-friendly jurisdiction. Liberal arbitration statutes, backed by sophisticated courts that enforce such statutes in favor of international […]

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today to a coalition of Tunisian labor union leaders, business leaders, lawyers, and human rights activists for their “decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.”

The coalition, formed in 2013, is known as the National Dialogue Quartet and is comprised of four key organizations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labor Union, the Tunisian Confederacy of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the

The United States, along with 11 Asian countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) have reached an agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. The IA Blog reported yesterday that the deal was very near completion. The final announcement, originally expected yesterday, was pushed back to this morning.

The deal will now be presented to the US Congress, where a contentious debate is expected. For the United States, the trade deal represents a major piece of its pivot towards Asia, and is seen […]

Numerous media outlets (here, here, and here) are reporting that the United States and 11 Asian countries are nearing a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty (TPP).

The TPP is a sweeping trade agreement that aims to lower barriers to goods and services and set commercial rules of the road amongst 11 Asian countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam), representing two-fifths of the world’s economy. Representatives from the 12 countries originally arrived for a 2-day meeting, which has stretched into five. Nevertheless, […]

As recently reported by Politico, negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership, or TTIP, are not even halfway complete, according to an internal assessment undertaken by the European Commission.

The TTIP is a trade and investment treaty being negotiated between the United States and the European Union, analogous to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada, and Mexico.

According to the European Commission’s report, the US and EU have not even exchanged positions, much less negotiated, on 10 of the 24 chapters of the proposed free trade agreement. With […]

Good Governance Africa has published an article entitled “Inside Ethiopia’s Commodities Pit.” The article describes Ethiopia’s successful commodity exchange operation, better known as ECX. The article notes that despite a spotty record on political freedom and human rights, Ethiopia’s ECX shines as an example of government achievement. The ECX is comprised of three players: over 3.1 million farmers, organized into cooperatives, who then sell to 350 ECX members, who store goods in warehouses around Ethiopia. These members, in turn, deal with ECX clients, who are exporters. The […]

South Africa is currently deliberating on the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill organized by the trade and industry portfolio committee. The bill is meant to provide a harmonized and standardized legislative framework to govern investments, and replaces the bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that South Africa has recently terminated.

As reported in Business Day, Department of Trade and Industry Director General Lionel October stated that within the new bill, South Africa would reserve to itself the absolute right to regulate the public interest, even though this might negatively affect foreign investors and foreign […]

(Image from World Economic Forum.)

The World Economic Forum has released its 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Report. This report assesses the competitive landscape of 140 economies, “providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.”

The full rankings index can be found here; the Report also includes a useful interactive map which visually indexes the competitiveness of the 140 countries.

In the African continent, the most competitive economy was Mauritius, in 46th place, ranking it just below the Russian Federation (45th), and higher than many other countries such as […]