EA36

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                      *       issue  36.      *
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                                                        January 15th, 1999.

ISSN 1286-4528                                   Publisher Michael Chapman.
                                                           ea@interarb.com
 

1. Diary of Events.
2. Directory.
3. News items.
4. Internet related News and Comment.
5. Letters.
 
 

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERSO ALL OUR READERS FROM THE EA EDITORIAL TEAM.

                                                                      EA

                      ++++++++++++++++++++++

1. DIARY OF EVENTS:

 All contributions to this DIARY are welcome. It is both for the individual arbitrator and for those who plan meetings.
 Generally, listed meetings will be at least half-day and usually full day events. Evening meetings are likely to be only of local interest.
 The emphasis is European: However to help in scheduling, major world events are listed.

                PLEASE see important note below,
                 before using any of this info.
 

1999:
---:
-----
Jan. 15-17   ASA, DIS & LCIA, Practice Building Seminar, Badenweiler,
             Germany. Contact: Fr.Loechner, DIS, fax 00+49-228.21.22.75

Jan 22       ASA Conference "The Claims Resolution Process for Dormant
             Accounts in Switzerland", Zurich. mailto:WZEP@PGPZH.CH

Feb. 17-20   CIArb, Conference.  Cancun, Mexico.

Feb. 25-26   International Arbitration Practice Workshop VIII.
             IWBL, Paris.

Mar.  1-5    XIIIth Meeting. International Congress of Maritime
             Arbitrators.  Auckland.
             fax Convention Management Services on: +64-9.360.1980

March 19     Second Joint AAA/LCIA Conference ('Consent in Arbitration:
             Reality or Illusion?') London. Contact: LCIA.

March 23rd   LMarch 23rd   LCIA Pan-African Council. 'Arbitration and Globalisation'.
             Tunis.

May 8-10     International Conference on International Commercial
             Arbitration. Sydney, Australia.
             Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia.

May 11-16    Hague Appeal for Peace. http;//www.haguepeace.org

May 17       Conference of the [state] members of the Permanent
             Court of Arbitration, The Hague.

May 18-19    THIRD HAGUE (Governmental) CONFERENCE, celebrating the
             Centenary of the First Conference.
             http://www.minbuza.nl/english/conferences/c_peace1.html

'summer'     Celebration of the 1899 First Hague Conference, to be
             held in St. Petersburg.

Sept.24-26   LCIA European Council Symposium. Barcelona/
Sept. 26 -   IBA Conference, Barcelona.
  Oct. 1

Nov. 17-18   CIArb, Millennium Conference. QEII Conference Centre, London.

Dec. 1-2     8th Geneva Global Arbitration Forum. Wernerp@iprolink.ch
 

2000:
-----
July 7-9     A.B.A. Annual Meeting, New York. (see also July 18-20).
July 14-16   ABA, Dispute Resolution Section, meeting, London.
             See ABA-DRS below for contact details.
July 18-20   A.B.A. Annual Meeting (continued, see also July 7-9), London.
 

Please CONFIRM all details directly with organisers, the above material is drawn from various sources and should not be relied on by itself(!).
 

contact details for frequently  cited organisations:
---------------
ABA     American Bar Association.  tel +1-312-988-5000. For www see
        Directory, below.     but NOTE the Section on Dispute Resolution'son Dispute Resolution's
        contact is based in Chicago:
ABA-SDR American Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution.
        telephone:  +1-202-662-1680

                      +++++++++++++++++++++
 

3.  DIRECTORY:
The next 'full' Directory appears in EA38 (and the last was in EA35). This edition's contains contact details for bodies mentioned in the Diary, new entrants, amended entries, etc.
A much extended Directory now appears at http://www.interarb.com/ea/dir.htm
New material (or corrections) for that directory are most welcome.
 

bibliographic/information sources:
----------------------------------

The Alternative Newsletter
         mailto:Mistofoles@aol.com
    or   mailto:TAN@mediate.com
         http://www.mediate.com/tan/

Serge Braudo
         L'arbitrage:  http://www.club-internet.fr/perso/sbraudo/
&nbraudo/
         La Conciliation, la Mediation et l'arbitrage:
            http://juripole.u-nancy.fr:80/braudo/arbmed/base/Index.html

European Arbitration:
         mailto:editor.ea@interarb.com
         http://www.interarb.com/ea/

Kluwer Law International 'Arbitration Site'
         http://www.epms.nl/arbit

Prof.Dr. Marianne Roth (Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet, D-Kiel)
         International Commercial Arbitration
             http://www.uni-kiel.de/zivilrecht/roth/engl_links.htm
 

institutions:
-------------

American Arbitration Association
         http://www.adr.org

American Bar Association  (ABA)
         mailto:abamtgs@abanet.org  or  mailto:info@abanet.org
         http://www.abanet.org

.org

American Bar Association - Dispute Resolution Section
         mailto:dispute@abanet.org
         http://www.abanet.org/dispute/home.htm

CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution
         http://www.cpradr.org

Cybertribunal (Centre de recherche en droit public, Montreal)
         mailto:secretariat@cybertribunal.org
         http://www.cybertribunal.org

HKIAC    Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
         mailto:adr@hkiac.org
         http://www.hkiac.org

IBA:     International Bar Association
         mailto:confs@int-bar.org

ICC:     International Chamber of Commerce (Paris)
         mailto:conf@iccwbo.org
         http://www.iccwbo.org/arb/index.htm
            &sp;    and:  http://www.iccwbo.org/conferences/home-confer.htm

Institute of Arbitrators of Australia:
         mailto:instarb@werple.net.au
         http://www.instarb.com.au/index.html

The Institute for Transnational Arbitration
         http://web2.airmail.net/slf/ita.html

Institute of World Business Law, see ICC (Paris).

JCAA  Japanese Commercial Arbitration Association
         http://jcaa.or.jp

Lebanese Review of Arab and International Arbitration.
         mailto:inajjar@dm.net.lb
         http://www.dm.net.lb/rla/

LCIA:    http://www.lcia-arbitration.com/lcia/
         mail to:xvc24@dial.pipex.com

MALQR  Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Review
         editor mailto:wellcham@hkplanet.com
         http://www.interarb.com/malqr/

Milan Chamber of Arbitrathamber of Arbitration
         http://www.mi.camcom.it/eng/arbitration.chamber

SPIDR    mailto:spidr@igc.apc.org
         http://www.spidr.org

Stockholm Chamber
         http://www.chamber.se

UNCITRAL
         http://www.un.or.at/uncitral

WIPO     mailto:arbiter.mail@wipo.int
         http://www.arbiter.wipo.int
         and:  http://www.arbiter.wipo.int/textonly/index.html

Zurich Chamber of Commerce:
         http://www.zurichcci.ch
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++

4.  NEWS ITEMS
 

Kompetenz:Kompetenz is separable in England?
--------------------------------------------
 A recent Court of Appeal decision in England (O'Callaghan v. Coral Racing Ltd., TLR of 26/11/1998 recording t6/11/1998 recording the Judgment of 19/11) is of some international interest, even though it was a purely domestic case and brought under the old legislation (the Arbitration Acts 1950-1979) as against the new legislation (the Arbitration Acts 1950-1996).
 In England betting contracts are null and void ... and if the definition is not circular such a "transaction is not in law a contract". The particular betting rules provided for disputes to be submitted for arbitration to the editor of "The Sporting Life".
 Lord Justice Hirst rejected the submission of Mr O'Callaghan's senior counsel (Robert Engelhart) that the dispute clause was severable. He said "The gaming transaction was declared null and void ... [by statute]. It was manifest that the arbitrator, if such he was, would be obliged to hold that the gaming transaction was void. ... Consequently, the clause must be treated as an integral part of the terms on which alone Coral was willing to do business ... and consequently could not be separated from the rules and could not survive independently."
 Two thoughts occur:
-Surely the modern view is that an arbitration clause (even in an illegal contract) survives? If the arbitrator refuses to acknowledge the illegality of the underlying contract/transaction the courts can usually intervene (if only on the grounds of public policy).
-Did the parties anyway wanhe parties anyway want (at the time of 'contracting') an enforceable decision? Or, did they want a morally persuasive one? Whatever they did want, it was perhaps undermined in its persuasiveness by the 'arbitrator' refusing to disclose Coral's submission to the other party(!).
 From an armchair many miles away, on the basis of a short report, it is tempting to suggest that (1) the integrity of the proceedings (including 'due process' / natural justice) should have been upheld) and that (2) the validity of any award that found other than the original transaction was not enforceable should have been open to question.
 The result would have been the same, which one suspects was Mr O'Callaghan's sole concern, but it might have looked rosier for English court 'assistance' to arbitration.
 
 

Lebanese Review of Arab and International Arbitration:
------------------------------------------------------
Apologies to readers (and to the Lebanese Review) but previous issues gave an incorrect e-mail address. The correct address is:
        mailto:inajjar@dm.net.lb
Thanks to Maître Ibrahim Najjar for the correction.

Arbitration information on the Web:
-----------------------------------
The contents of MODEL ARBITRATIONs of MODEL ARBITRATION LAW QUARTERLY REPORTS (from issue 1 of volume 1) are now listed at http://www.interarb.com/malqr/

Publications:
-------------
"Commercial Arbitration under Chinese Law", Cecilia Hakansson, Iustus Forlag (Uppsala).Approx. 150pp. ISBN 91-7678-395-2. SEK 300 + VAT + post.
mailto:order@iustus.se  Publication "immediately after Christmas".
Cecilia Hakansson is working with Glimstedts in Shanghai. A non-Anglo Saxon, non-Chinese view of Chinese arbitration by an author who knows the Chinese language should be a valuable addition to the literature.
"Arbitration cd-rom" I have now received more information from the publishers (publication is imminent). The editorial board is truly international, and we look forward to reviewing this important step in arbitral information provision, possibly in our next issue. (ISBN 90-411-1072-0)
 

Books advertised:
-----------------
 Typographical errors are editor's nightmare. The advent of the automated 'spellchecker' may have reduced the incidence of errors, but it has meant that instead of a nonsense what remains now is usually an inappropriate 'sense word'.
 Editors should be wary of throwing the first stone, but having just received a flyer which contains chapter by chapter contents lists for arbitration lists for arbitration books I was amused to read the following chapter headings:
  "Agreed Ward on Settlement"
  "Multi-member Agreement Tribunals"
  "The Ward"
It might make you wonder what the books are like ... but then most books are checked by their authors before printing, whilst publicity material is not. I won't name the publisher in question.

Hong Kong and Arbitration Conventions:
--------------------------------------
 I rather innocently asked whether any readers knew the status of Hong Kong under the now *almost* redundant Geneva Protocol and Geneva Convention (of 1923 and 1927). The question was almost academic. One lawyer practising in Hong Kong replied that he would check, but noted that in his 'debates' with the government he was assured that the Special Administrative Region (SAR) had not adopted former treaties and conventions: His enquiry was though about a special case -double tax treaties. His foreign professional fees were thus now likely to be taxed (or suffer withholding tax at source).
 This rather set a hare running. Not the intention. I was therefore pleased to read a very re-assuring paragraph half-way through an article on 'Hong Kong in Transition - The Prospects':
 "We also had significant success in agreeing that about 180 multilateral treaties applying tl treaties applying to Hong Kong would continue after 30 June 1997 under Chines sovereignty, with China being responsible for international rights and obligations. These treaties included well-known ones in merchant shipping, civil aviation and private international law, such as service of court documents."
 The author is James Hanratty (former Law Officer to the HK Government and Legal Adviser to the British side of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group) published in 'Asian Affairs' XXIX, 259 (1998)..
 Dirk Otto also kindly supplied some information of more general interest, which I shall return to in a future issue. (Thank you.)
It seems unthinkable that the NYC is not in Hanratty's '180', but the Geneva agreements still remain a mystery.
 Hanratty's conclusion to his published lecture then rather re-opens the question, if in a far more restricted way: "Other recent developments have caused some worry, for instance, recent legislation to exempt Chinese state concerns from Hong Kong law. ... If, for example, a Chinese state industry in Hong Kong through its office in London ordered complex machinery from a factory [in England] and then did not pay for it, the factory [in England] would sue the Chinese state enterprise in ... courts in the UK. But, if there were insufficient funds [in London], the factory would hope to go to Hong Kong courts under a reciprocal enforcement iprocal enforcement of judgements agreement to enforce the UK court's judgement against the assets of the Chines state industry in the courts of Hong Kong; The recent legislation enacted is likely to prevent such a judgment being enforced. The consequence is that it is unlikely that Hong Kong will be able to make reciprocal enforcement of judgments agreements with other countries."
 It all sounds like a good advert for arbitration (unless you are from a solely Geneva Convention country [China has a branch of its state bank in at least one, I hear]) but I would welcome publishing something from someone 'on the spot'. Any offers?
 

                      +++++++++++++++++++++
COPY DATE for EA37 is: January 29th.
                      +++++++++++++++++++++

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END OF THIS ISSUE.