Journal articles on the topic 'Arbitration and award – European Union countries'

Abstract The author contextualizes the Final Award issued on 29 June 2017 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute, a dispute which began in 1991 when the two Yugoslav republics became independent states. After joining the European Union in 2004, Slovenia began to use its membership to attempt to force its neighbour to agree to its terms. In November 2009 the two countries signed an Arbitration Agreement that temporarily solved the problem. The Final Award of the Court of Arbitration in The Hague of June 2017 has not been acknowledged by Croatia, though, on the ground of an audio surveillance scandal in 2015 that involved a Slovenian arbitrator. The Slovenian side has advocated the Final Award of the Tribunal as the only legal, internationally binding, and “European” solution to the border question, while the Croatian side continues to ignore the tribunal’s disposition.

Under European Union (EU) law, arbitrators and national courts are obligated to apply, ex officio, EU competition law. Also according to EU law, any failure by an arbitral tribunal to apply such rules, or any erroneous interpretation or application hereof, constitute grounds for setting aside the subsequent award, if and when such measure is dictated by the Member State’s procedural rules. This article examines the relevant procedural rules in Denmark and Sweden based on two recent decisions by the national Supreme Courts. It concludes that under Scandinavian procedural law, courts will generally limit their inquiry to a superficial review of the premises of the award and will only reluctantly set aside an otherwise valid award based only on matters of merit. The main purpose of this article is to provide an up-to-date analysis of the position of the Scandinavian courts, thus helping to ‘map’ the European arbitration landscape. Even so, we have attempted to include and contribute to a few of the main discussions concerning the landscape in which the decisions were rendered in the introductory section. In the last section, we build on the reasoning of the two Supreme Courts in order to propose a framework for understanding the interplay between national and EU law, at least in the Scandinavian countries.

AbstractA number of European Union (EU) countries have undertaken thorough reforms in the renewable energy sector over the past years. The regulatory changes have triggered a wave of claims from low-carbon investors asserting that the reforms have diminished or exhausted the economic viability of their investments. Unlike local investors, who typically take legal action before domestic courts, foreign investors have filed arbitration claims in accordance with the Energy Charter Treaty, notably against Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, resulting in several awards of damages. However, recent developments in EU state aid law seem to restrict the ability of investors to obtain compensation. This article argues that such developments may undermine renewable energy policy, because arbitration enhances the regulatory stability and predictability which low-carbon investments require only if arbitral awards can be enforced effectively. The article examines the different scenarios that may arise out of the interplay between EU law and investment arbitration in the EU and concludes that the European Commission's arguable redrawing of the boundaries of state aid rules to encompass investment arbitration, combined with the EU's general quest to replace investment arbitration with alternative mechanisms of adjudication, may jeopardize climate change mitigation policies.

The author analyses the regulation of institutional arbitration under investor–state dispute settlement mechanisms, with an emphasis on such arrangements to which the European Union is a party. The functioning of the EU’s Investment Court System is presented in detail as a major reform to the status quo, along with some questions raised when qualifying this system as a means of arbitration, especially for the purposes of recognition and enforcement of decisions rendered, both in jurisdictions party to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and third countries. The latter problem is identified as a significant aspect of international investment arbitration.

<p>Indonesia is highly regarded as a country with the biggest e-commerce market in South-East Asia. This creates an urgency for the Indonesian government to offer an efficient and effective dispute resolution mechanism to settle dispute arising from e-commerce transaction. Online arbitration as an arbitration conducted online through means of internet and technology may provide solution to the disputes arising from e-commerce transactions. Thus, this article sets out the legal aspect of online arbitration in European Union and China as countries with the most developed online arbitration and largest market of e-commerce. The author will use normative research through comparative, statue approach and will be based on the regulations from primary and secondary resources.</p><p> This article compares six aspects of online arbitration in European Union and China, covering the arbiter, role of government, scope, procedure, enforcement, and factors affecting enforcement. The comparison may give further recommendation on the prospective of online arbitration in Indonesia.</p>

In this article, I decided to discuss the topical question of whether and, if so, in what circumstances, cartel damages claims can be arbitrated in the European Union. International arbitration plays a central role in resolving disputes in the international business community. It is often considered speedier and more cost-effective than litigation. It gives the parties a similarly final and enforceable award to litigation, but with considerable advantages in terms of the choice of the arbitrators, procedural flexibility and neutrality of the forum. As such, it is considered favourably by most legal systems.

The European Union and the United States have generally converged toward consumer welfare-based antitrustenforcement. In the United States, arbitration has been used extensively to resolve antitrust claims. In the European Union, only national courts, and not ad hoc arbitral tribunals, can refer questions to the European Court of Justice to obtain an interpretation or assessment of the validity of EU law provisions. Where national arbitration laws do not have manifest disregard of law as a reason for reviewing an award, courts cannot review the merits of awards for violation of EU competition law. The need for the recognition of an independent and alternative system to litigation, such as arbitration, is important both for the direct implementation of Article 81 of the EC Treaty in accordance with the scope of the Commission White Paper and to share the load of cases concerning competition disputes.

Sometimes, the application of the economic sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) arises in arbitration proceedings. This article examines the extent to which unilateral EU sanctions are applied uniformly in arbitration. Opting for arbitration between the parties instead of court proceedings, as well as the selection of a particular arbitration venue, may be used to avoid the application of EU sanctions. Although arbitral tribunals have considerable freedom in deciding whether to give effect to EU economic sanctions, which involves an inherent uncertainty in terms of their claim for uniform application, the fact that the parties choose arbitration does not necessarily exclude their application. EU sanctions constitute the public policy of the Member States. The potential for the annulment of the arbitral award by a competent court in an EU Member State or the denial of the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award in the EU may therefore be an incentive for the arbitrators not to disregard these sanctions and may discourage the parties from choosing arbitration or a particular location for arbitration only to escape the application of EU sanctions.

International dispute settlement and international relations both have a long history. All EU association agreements have appropriate dispute settlement mechanisms, which differ to some extent. The main task of this study is to determine the international legal mechanisms for resolving disputes included in the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine. Furthermore, the purpose of the study becomes especially relevant in the context of the process of resolving the Ukraine-EU trade dispute on national restrictions on timber exports, which is the first dispute in Ukrainian practice. A comparison of the various treaty principles of EU cooperation with third countries suggests that the highest level of protection of individuals through the functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism is described by association agreements, and some of them even resemble an "arbitration clause". It was found that the criteria of comparative analysis were the types of dispute resolution mechanisms, consultation procedures and arbitration procedure, mediation procedure and rules of procedure. According to these criteria, it was found that the association agreements contain almost identical provisions on consultation procedures and arbitration, with the exception of some agreements where arbitration is presented on a narrower scale. The provisions on mediation procedures in the submitted agreements are almost identical to the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators and the Rules of Procedure, which serve as template documents duplicated in the various agreements. The association agreements between the EU and Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova are analysed in detail, and common and distinctive features are described. Differences in the details of dispute settlement mechanisms may indicate that the parties have concerns about the likelihood and intensity of disputes. The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU for the settlement of disputes makes provision for the use of various methods: consultations, arbitration, the establishment of an arbitration panel. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the first case of a trade dispute, which is resolved with the use of the arbitration procedure under the Association Agreement with Ukraine on the export of raw wood

On June 3, 2020, the International Commercial Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal (the Court or the Court of Appeal) dismissed the annulment application brought by the Société Française d'Etudes et de Réalisation d'Equipements Gaziers (Sofregaz, now called TCM FR) of an arbitral award rendered in Paris on December 27, 2018, in favor of the Iranian Natural Gas Storage Company (NGSC), pursuant to the Rules of Arbitration of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Rules). The Court ruled in particular that U.S. sanctions against Iran do not form part of French international public order but that European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) sanctions do. This ruling provides useful guidance on the interaction between international sanctions and international arbitration.

On 19 February 2020, in the latest episode to date of the long-running Micula saga, the United Kingdom (UK) Supreme Court gave its green light to the enforcement in the (UK) of the award obtained by the Micula brothers against Romania (Award) under the 2002 Sweden-Romania bilateral investment treaty (BIT), despite the fact that the question of whether this Award constitutes state aid prohibited under EU law was pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The Supreme Court ruled that the UK enforcement obligations under the ICSID Convention could not be affected by the EU duty of sincere cooperation, as the UK’s ratification of the ICSID Convention preceded its accession to the EU. The UK Supreme Court judgment, and the prior main episodes of the Micula saga in the framework of the ICSID, EU state aid and enforcement proceedings, offer a great opportunity to explore the increasingly tumultuous relationship between investment arbitration and EU (competition) law, in particular the compatibility of intra- EU investment arbitrations under the ICSID Convention with EU law and the coexistence of selective protections under international investment law with EU state aid law.

The value added tax (VAT) classification of services provided in connection with arbitration proceedings will be illustrated on the basis of the law and practice in Denmark, Germany and Sweden. Since VAT is a tax that has been harmonized in the European Union, the VAT position ought to be the same for similar services in all Member States, unless a Member State has a standstill clause.1 The VAT treatment of services does not appear to be the same in these three countries. In Germany and Sweden it is agreed that services provided in connection with arbitration proceedings are subject to VAT, but in Denmark they are not regarded as subject to VAT. For the background to why VAT is not levied on services connected with arbitration proceedings in Denmark, it is necessary to look at some past rulings of the Danish VAT Tribunal (Momsnævn). These decisions were made prior to the amendment of the Danish VAT Act in 1994 and so they are based on the old rules. The question is whether the amendments to the Danish VAT Act in 1994 ought to have led to these services concerned being subject to VAT in Denmark.

The London P&I Club judgment was expected to settle down certain issues regarding the relationship between arbitration and the Brussels I Regulation by deciding whether a judgement made under a United Kingdom law in terms of an arbitral award may be recognized as a judgment within the meaning of Article 34 of the Brussels I Regulation to the extent this provision permits refusal of recognition on the grounds of irreconcilability with a judgement of a Member State addressed. Despite giving an affirmative answer to the above question, the Court of Justice of the European Union has introduced completely new guidelines and limitations on the use of the irreconcilability grounds for refusal of recognition in order to prevent parties from abusing arbitration in order to circumvent binding provisions of the Brussels I Regulation. The commentary explores the grounds and historical context of the London P&I Club judgment, aiming to uncover the CJEU’s train of thought beyond what has been written in the court opinion, as well as attempting to provide a broader perspective on its consequences, beyond English judgments in terms of an arbitral award.

AbstractThe issue of the relationship between Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and the EU legal order has recently attracted attention amongst scholars and practitioners in the field of international investment arbitration. Under a first perspective of the problem, the Arbitral Tribunal in Eastern Sugar B.V. v. The Czech Republic was confronted with the question of whether there was any room left for BITs between EU Member States. The Tribunal discussed the legal arguments advanced for and against the applicability of such "intra-EU BITs" between Member States. The issue, which is particularly relevant considering that there are currently more than 190 BITs concluded between EU Member States, will be analysed in the first part of this article. Under a second point of view of the problem, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down two judgments on 3 March 2009 addressing incompatibilities with EC Law resulting from certain BITs entered into by Sweden and Austria with third countries. The second part of this article will deal with the consequences arising out of the Court's rulings with regard to existing and future BITs entered into by Member States with third countries.

The legal system in Spain is undergoing a process of convergence with our neighboring countries in the European Union. Directive 52/2008 on mediation in civil and commercial matters has been recently transposed by the Law 5/2012, of July 6th. This is the first rule about civil and commercial mediation in the state level and it happens when mediation begin to be considered as an alternative to prosecution or via arbitration, as it involves a system of conflict resolution, that can help to get the right to judicial protection, keeping the Courts as a last resort andturning the citizen into active protagonist of the solution of their own conflict.This paper aims to analyze the questions about the mediation agreement in European Union, their enforceability and binding effects, the procedure to be followed or the effectiveness of the agreements reached therein.The gradual consolidation of mediation between legal operators involves reflection on the model adopted in our system, because this method has meant a great improvement in all Member States legal system. It is necessary to promote the culture of mediation to bring this institution to all sectors of society involved.

The appeal of the international commercial arbitration awards is a major issue in the dispute settlement mechanism for arbitration governed by multilateral conventions, bilateral treaties and national laws, as well as by the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. Notwithstanding the importance of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, it restricts to a certain extent the scope of legal protection of arbitral awards, as it leaves national courts to challenge them by the way of possible annulment, and national courts when considering petitions for annulment decisions are vested in the power to revoke such decisions. In this respect, the resolution of these issues may raise the issue of the correlation between the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 and domestic legislation of the countries in which the relevant decision may be challenged. The specific of the international commercial arbitration decision is that it cannot be appealed to any higher court. However, the absence of any form of control over the arbitral award could lead to the enforcement of such decisions, which, if rendered within the judicial system, would be overturned or modified by a higher court. Therefore, there is an institution for challenging arbitral awards in national courts. Due to the fact that the arbitration award is a form of control by national courts, the regulation of this institution is defined in the legislation of each individual country, and at the international legal level only certain aspects are regulated. These are the European Convention of 1961 and the New York Convention of 1958.

The article examines the European experience of considering disputes in the field of social security, the ways of their prevention, the essence and methods of resolution, the possibility of borrowing positive assets of foreign states in the law enforcement practice of Ukraine is considered. Having analyzed the European experience of resolving disputes in the field of social security, three ways of their possible settlement are distinguished: 1) with the help of special courts on social security issues (sectoral justice); 2) through a civil process in general courts; 3) by means of conciliation and arbitration procedures. It was determined that a social model has developed in European countries, which is based on such values ​​common to all EU member states, such as: a close connection between the level of economic development and social progress; high level of social security, which is universal in nature; developed legislation; equal opportunities and fight against discrimination; production democracy; dialogue of social partners within the framework of contractual relations; availability of developed social infrastructure; the key role of the state in solving social problems; the struggle for employment and eradication of the phenomenon of social rejection and poverty; decent salary; social justice and solidarity in society. These basic values ​​also formed the basis of consideration and resolution of disputes in the field of social security. The listed values ​​should form the foundation of the Ukrainian theory and practice of social disputes. It was determined that the national specifics and practice of each European state provide for the use of various methods of resolving social disputes with recourse to social courts, reconciliation services, mediation, arbitration and mediation. The activity of social courts is based on the principles of tripartite cooperation (tripartism). Court cases are considered by a panel consisting of a professional judge and two non-professional judges. In addition, state mediation and mediation are effective measures for the pre-trial resolution of social disputes in the EU countries. They contribute to the relief of the judicial system, saving time and financial resources of the parties to the dispute. These institutions are little known for Ukraine and, at the same time, promising.

There has been a crisis prevailing at the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since December 2019. The United States’ (US) refusal to allow the appointment of members to the WTO’s Appellate Body has disturbed the functioning of the entire WTO dispute settlement process. In order to mitigate the effects of this, the European Union (EU) has proposed a multi-party interim appeal arbitration agreement (MPIA) which has been joined by over twenty other WTO members. In the absence of rules-based dispute settlement, countries will most probably resort to bilateral negotiations. This will be prejudicial to the interests of developing countries that have consistently been disadvantaged during bilateral negotiations and fared better in proceedings with third-party adjudication. Though India has expressed concerns about the Appellate Body crisis, it has not joined the MPIA and has stated that it does not intend to do so either. This article explains why India would benefit from joining the MPIA especially given the disputes it has pending before WTO Panels. Joining the MPIA will help India avoid unilateral sanctions at the first instance and increase the likelihood of compliance by other WTO members that are a part of the MPIA. WTO, Appellate Body, India, dispute settlement, multilateralism, United States, European Union

Abstract By rendering its preliminary ruling in Achmea v Slovakia, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) declared intra-EU investment treaty arbitration to be incompatible with fundamental principles of the European legal order. This decision does not only illustrate the challenge of regime interaction in international economic law but is also of highest practical relevance. Diverse and critical reactions from arbitral practice and legal scholarship suggest that it will ultimately be up to the courts within and outside of the EU to clarify how the ECJ’s findings in Achmea relate to the legal fate of arbitral awards. Against this background, the aim of the present contribution is to shed light on the judgment’s legal consequences on the post-award phase. As a starting point, an analysis of the judgment finds that the ECJ’s reasoning in Achmea is applicable to investor–State dispute resolution (ISDS) clauses contained in all intra-EU investment treaties, including the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) when applied in an intra-EU context (Section 2). Based on these findings, we evaluate how the incompatibility of intra-EU investment treaty arbitration with the law of the European Union (EU law) affects setting aside proceedings (Section 3) and applications for recognition and enforcement of awards (Section 4) within and outside of the EU. We show that possible solutions may range from fully enforcing intra-EU investment awards to completely disregarding any legal effect. Evaluating the complex legal landscape applicable to both types of proceedings clearly illustrates that there is no simple ‘yes-or-no’ rule. Instead, factors such as the applicability of the ICSID Convention, the seat of the arbitral tribunal or the jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought are relevant but should not be considered in isolation. Instead, it is concluded that these factors must be considered as inter-related aspects of an analytical framework which may lead to a coherent understanding of the relationship between the European legal order and the settlement of intra-EU investment disputes (Section 5).

After the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, Pope John Paul II asked Catholics around the world to assist members of the Church who had suffered under the yoke of communist oppression as a result of their commitment to Catholicism. Sr. Margaret Savoie, and Sr. Margaret Nacke, Sisters of St. Joseph, Concordia, Kansas, decided that the experiences of Catholic women in religious communities – “surviving sisters” – was an important story that needed to be documented, preserved, and made available for future generations and researchers. In 2003, Sisters Mary and Margaret began their research, recording the plight of Catholic sisters in eight countries, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and the Ukraine, from the rise of Stalin until the collapse of European communism. Over 200 testimonials now reside at the Paul Bechtold Library at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago under the auspices of the library’s archivist, Dr. Kenneth O’Malley, C.P. , and their work has been made into a national and award-winning documentary film. .

Over the last few years, the livestock industry in Russia significantly increases the production of the main types of meat (pork, beef, poultry). In modern industrial animal husbandry, poultry and fish farming with intensive technologies of animal rearing, technological regulations, instructions for the use of veterinary drugs are often violated. In this regard, the residual contents of veterinary drugs, hormones and b-agonists are encountered in animal products. Screening and arbitration methods are used to control the residual content of veterinary drugs, both in the Russian Federation and in the countries of the European Union. The development and improvement of existing tools and methods for controlling the residual contents of veterinary drugs is an important task for veterinary science.

In the course of the negotiations between the European Union and the United States about the “Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership” (TTIP) the aspects of investment protection and investment arbitration have attracted much press attention. They have become key targets of criticism and massive attacks. Investment arbitration has been depicted as some obscure and undemocratic mechanism that helps rich companies to exploit poor countries. The discussion has become so agitated that oftentimes the underlying facts got out of sight. The goal of the present article therefore is to shed some light on these facts and thereby trace the heated discussion back to an objective, sober-minded level. The authors explain in a step-by-step approach how investment protection in bilateral/multilateral investment treaties works and what standard principles of protection these treaties typically grant to foreign investors (e.g. no direct/indirect expropriation without compensation; no discrimination against foreign investors; the duty to accord fair and equitable treatment to foreign investors). These legal basics are then filled with life by the illustration of four publicly known investment arbitration case studies: Adem Dogan v. Turkmenistan, Philip Morris v. Australia, Vattenfall v. Germany and Walter Bau v. Thailand. The authors conclude that much of the current criticism is unfounded as it ignores factual realities and new developments in international investment arbitration.

The ruling on 12 July 2016 by the Arbitral Tribunal in the case of the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China has had positive impact on the credibility of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian claimant countries. This improved positioning for Southeast Asia vis-à-vis China has however mainly seen the promotion of bilateral country relationships with China and displayed limited utility for the Southeast Asian region as a whole. Despite contemporary unpalatability of multilateralism as a viable means for dispute resolution to the claimant countries, there is an inherent multilateral opportunity to the rise of Sino-Southeast Asian bilateralisms post-ruling, especially favourable for regional, inter-regional, and global for a in which Southeast Asian countries and China interact with international partners. Primary aim of this article is to illustrate this indirect opportunity for multilateralism with focus on the extent to which there has been and is enhanced space for the European Union (EU) and its Member States as international partners to express their commitment to peace and security in the Asia-Pacific in the specific context of the South China Sea arbitration.

Abstract Investor–state arbitration is undergoing a paradigm shift with several countries and regional blocs rethinking the best way to protect investor rights while retaining sovereign prerogatives. This is where the Netherlands fits into the narrative. Its decision to modernize appears to follow the contemporary developments in investment arbitration, including heightened public scrutiny on the effect of investment treaties on regulatory space and the investor-to-state dispute settlement system, as well as the Post-Treaty of Lisbon European Union framework for investment arbitration. On 16 May 2018, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a draft for a new Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) on the Government’s website. This was done with a view to updating the earlier Model BIT which dates. Through public consultation, individuals and interest groups were invited to share their views. The Government amended the 2018 Draft Model BIT after deliberating on the public reactions it had received, and circulated a new draft on 19 October 2018. Subsequently, after parliamentary debate in February 2019, the Dutch Government published an updated Model BIT on 22 March 2019. In this article, we critically examine the 2019 Final Dutch Model BIT and examine it in light of the global rethink on investment law and policy.

Bevk Perović arhitekti was founded by Matija Bevk b. 1972, graduated from Faculty of Architecture University of Ljubljana) and Vasa J. Perović b. 1965, graduated from Faculty of Architecture University of Belgrade, YU; Master's degree from Berlage Institute, Amsterdam). They work, alongside with the international team of 15 young architects, on a diverse range of projects in different European countries. They have been awarded numerous national and international prizes - European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Emerging Architect Award, Kunstpreis Berlin, Plečnik Prize, Piranesi Award, and others. In order to understand and comprehend their work, one must examine their 'dedicated choice' to follow conditions in which a building emerges. These conditions range from political and social, to environmental and material their simple, yet complex architectural solutions strive to respond to those conditions beyond bare function. For this publication we have selected two of the most recent finished public buildings: Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre Ljubljana and Neue Galerie und Kasematten / Neue Bastei, Wiener Neustadt 2016 - 2019.

CoME EASY is a European Union H2020 project started in May 2018, which aims to help local public authorities secure a more sustainable energy and climate policy, in line with the New Green Deal and Fit for 55 initiatives. The main idea of CoME EASY is to offer an integrated package of on-line tools that synchronize European Energy Awards (EEA) with Covenant of Mayors (CoM), ISOs, Smart Cities, and other initiatives that allow local communities to have multiple commitments for energy efficiency and climate with less effort. EEA is a quality management and awarding system for municipalities and regions, which started in 1988 in Switzerland and now includes more than 1700 municipalities from 8 countries and 10 new pilot countries with more than 65 million people belonging to the local communities that are involved. There are six main areas of activity in EEA (Development and Spatial Planning Strategy, Municipal Buildings and Facilities, Supply and Disposal, Mobility, Internal Organization, Communication and Cooperation) through which municipalities are driven by advisors so as to receive a score in percentage for each area, which further allows them to compare with other communities. Romania has been an EEA pilot country since 2016 and, despite initial problems in implementing the system, now has three communities, Iași (Romania second largest city), Alba Iulia (the so-called other Romanian capital), and Vama Buzăului, included in CoME EASY. These cities tested frameworking tools and managed to be assessed with EAA tools, and developed a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan synchronously. Owing to the CoME EASY tools, all of these communities were able to deliver key performance indicators that are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The article is focused on legal nature of International Valuation Standards Committee (renamed to International Valuation Standards Council in 2008) and implementation of its valuation standards by states and international organizations. The paper concentrates on legal gaps regarding the application aspects of property value calculations in international law. Treaties do not provide substantial determinacy, include no instruction or the appropriate methodology on numerous calculation issues and typically set forth only basic standard of valuation such as standard of fair market value of property for the calculation of compensation. It shows that lack of standards for determining awards of compensation creates a source of uncertainty for protection in international public law. The issue discusses a framework where international valuation standards of international non-governmental organizations are given legal weight and serve as guidelines for the calculation of awards. After establishing the legal basis for an award, tribunals use their impression of valuation best practices as well as discretion to conduct the analysis. The result depends on the assumptions and philosophy of the adjudicating tribunal. It is emphasized that international arbitration practice in measures of compensation should be based on principles of fairness and reasonableness. Part of the issue is based on Directive of European Union with provisions that valuation standards of states should take into account internationally recognised valuation standards, in particular those developed by the International Valuation Standards Committee, the European Group of Valuers’ Associations or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Member states of European Union admitted valuation standards of international non-governmental organizations as reliable standards for the credit purposes after the financial crisis, which has shown that irresponsible behaviour by market participants can undermine the foundations of the financial system leading to potentially severe social and economic consequences.

As the recovery of the Calvo Doctrine is becoming more and more apparent, the reform practice of the investment dispute settlement mechanism is also affected. The world's major economies have practiced different reform models according to their actual conditions, broadly categorized into the radical abandonment model represented by Latin American countries, the partial improvement model represented by the United States, and the institutional innovation model represented by the European Union. The essence of the Calvo Doctrine's "non-intervention" core corresponds to the field of investment dispute settlement, which is mainly reflected in the host country's opposition to the superior treatment of foreign investors over domestic investors, thus excluding investment disputes from being handled by international investment arbitration bodies. China, as the initiator of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, should follow the trend of Calvo Doctrine recovery in the current reform of the investment dispute settlement mechanism, re-examine the international investment arbitration mechanism based on dialectical analysis of different reform proposals of various economies, explore and build a preventive and alternative approach based on investment dispute prevention and dispute mediation, and respond to the needs of the international community. To address the crisis of the legitimacy of the current investment arbitration under the revival of the Calvo Doctrine, we will explore the investment dispute settlement mechanism under the "One Belt, One Road" initiative from a new perspective with a distinctive Chinese solution.

Abstract This article concerns the implementation of new EU Directives coordinating the procedures for awarding public contracts in European Union Member States. In a number of countries, including Poland, the process of their implementation (Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement; Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport, and postal services sectors; Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts) was delayed. In most cases, the modernization of EU regulations on public procurement required a thorough modification of national regulations in this respect. As a result of the introduction of the package of new Directives, the European Union public procurement market has undergone substantial changes. The need to adjust legal regulations to the changing political, social, and economic situations in a better way has resulted in the transposition of the modernized EU Directives concerning public procurement to the Polish legal system, affecting the final shape of the new Polish Public Procurement Law. The implementation of the package of new Directives has significantly affected the functioning of the Polish public procurement market. For the entities operating in this market, this means the necessity to expand their knowledge, so as to become familiar with the new legal solutions in this respect.

A widely-recognized ‘backlash against globalization’ has taken many forms in recent years, particularly in the resurgence of nationalism and protectionism. Following the rise of a legitimacy crisis in the international regime for the protection of investments, the Trumpanian attack on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body undermines a crucial function of this organization. In this context, the European Union has traditionally been seen as an advocate of the rule of law at an international level. Currently, it leads the way to maintain rules-based global economic governance by submitting detailed proposals to reform international trade and investment adjudication bodies and galvanizing broad support for them amongst other countries. Specifically, the European Union (EU) proposes the establishment of a multilateral investment court (MIC), which it considers to be the best option to address the concerns with the existing system of investor-State dispute resolution (ISDS). At the WTO, the EU has tabled two sets of proposals to answer concerns from the US and modify the relevant parts of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU). After the collapse of the WTO Appellate Body, the EU led an initiative to create an interim appeal arbitration arrangement. This article argues that, in the absence of leadership by the US, the EU plays an essential role in maintaining trade and investment governance built on international law. This article identifies two different EU approaches in its attempt to (1) modernize an existing adjudication body at the WTO and (2) promote establishment of a new judicial institution for the resolution of investment disputes. In both ways, the EU acts as an innovator in terms of international governance. European Union, reform, judicialization, WTO, Appellate Body, UNCITRAL, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), multilateral investment court

Abstract: This article considers whether collective bargaining can enhance privacy protection for employees in the United States. Employers are increasingly engaging in practices that invade employee privacy with few existing legal protections to limit their actions. While data on the extent of bargaining about privacy is limited, it appears that unions in the U.S. have primarily used the grievance and arbitration procedure to challenge invasions of privacy that lead to discipline of the employee instead of negotiating explicit contractual privacy rights. In contrast to the U.S., labor representatives in many other countries, particularly in the European Union, have greater legal rights of consultation with employers and take a more proactive approach to protection of employee privacy. While this approach offers promise for achieving greater privacy for employees and more flexibility for employers, the article concludes that it is unlikely to be widely adopted in the U.S. because of the limited power of labor unions.

Among the measures adopted to tackle the financial crisis in Europe, part of the sovereign debt of the Greek government was restructured in early 2012.The current Greek predicament bears a significant resemblance with Argentina's situation after the 2001 economic crisis. Its sovereign debt restructuring has been challenged before an investment arbitral tribunal by a group of Italian bondholders, who have thus far succeeded at the jurisdictional phase. The Abaclat and others v. Argentina case is the first International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration which deals with a sovereign debt workout. Albeit the award on the merits is still pending, the importance of the dispute cannot be overestimated. It signals a new forum bondholders could use, when they do not participate in an exchange, to still seek to obtain their interest and capital from the debtor State. This article aims at assessing the possibility of analogous developments for Greece, and potentially other Eurozone countries which might need to restructure their debt in the near future. To do so, it compares the historical unravelling of the crises in Argentina and in the Eurozone. It then offers a careful analysis of the recent arbitral decision in the Abaclat case. Finally, it evaluates the potential risks for the Eurozone and reviews several options for action at the European level.

In its recent judgment in Republic of Moldova (also known as the Komstroy case), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) took the view that the arbitration clause contained in Article 26(2)(c) of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) does not apply to intra-EU investor-State disputes. This article provides a critical analysis of this ruling and highlights the methodological flaws of its reasoning. As part of this analysis, it discusses the implications of the Energy Charter Treaty’s nature as a “mixed agreement” for the scope of application of Article 26(2)(c) and the CJEU’s jurisdiction to interpret the ECT. It also discusses the proper interpretation of Article 26(2)(c) pursuant to the rules on treaty interpretation laid down in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, including with the help of documents from the ECT’s travaux preparatoires. Finally, the article deals with Republic of Moldova consequences – or rather the lack thereof – for arbitral tribunals and the courts of non-EU countries.

Abstract This paper focuses on sustainable public procurement (SPP) and its role in public procurement of the members of the Visegrad Group (Hungarian, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic). Sustainable public procurement is a current trend in public purchasing around the world. The European Union’s sustainable development policy, which respects the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, seeks to influence the public procurement policies of the members of the European Union. Every country, including the Visegard Group countries is trying to implement sustainable development criteria in its procurement process and to change legislation. The aim of this paper is to compare the implementation of public procurement in the Czech Republic with other members of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary) and analyse how the public procurement (tenders) respects the criteria of sustainable public procurement in the case of the selected public procurements (tenders) in rail transport. We analyse the public procurement process and investigate the possibility/appropriateness of using social responsibility criteria in the individual phases of the procurement process (award criteria). The results show that there are different methods of implementing SPP in the V4 countries. There are significant differences between the regions. Based on the results of our research and analysis of the selected tenders, we concluded that the principle of social responsibility needs to be reflected in all steps, i.e. in the formulation of the subject of the public contract, the preparation of the contractual terms and the selection of evaluation criteria in their qualitative form.

This article aims to investigate the factors influencing the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement in the Visegrad Group Countries. According to the European Union, tools such as the division of contracts into smaller lots or the evaluation of tenders based on the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) increase the chances of SME’s winning contracts in public procurement. In particular, the evaluation of tenders based on MEAT rather than the lowest price is a tool favoring SMEs, as it boosts their innovative potential, which creates the preconditions for achieving the best value for taxpayers' money. By analyzing more than 150,000 contract award notices published in the Tenders Electronic Daily in 2019, we found a positive effect on SMEs' chances of winning a contract when using framework agreements or dividing contracts into smaller lots. Moreover, the results of multinomial logit regression suggest that the evaluation of tenders based on MEAT rather than lowest prices increases the chances of SMEs to win the contract by more than 50%. However, the findings that the share of SMEs in the total financial value of contracts is less than 20%, with SMEs winning more than 60% of all contracts, suggest that some obstacles of SMEs' access to public contracts, such as financial, administrative or technical complexity of projects may persist and require further research.

The article analyzes with the analysis of the influence of incentive elements on the motivation of workers to better performance and satisfaction, across the whole active population in the context of the new economy. For specific generations, motivational incentives are diverse. The main reasons of using the award, recognition of the performance and motivation are long-term sustainable good relationships in the workplace, as well as demonstrable work successes and, last but not least, an increase in the success of the whole company. Different incentive elements also used in the Slovak Republic and other European Union countries. A majority motivation characterizes Slovakia through financial evaluation. However, recent years indicate a change of mindset of employers and employees. The population of the Slovak Republic is ageing, the retirement age is increasing, which demographically affects the development of the labour market. The age structure of the society suggests that everyone has a better performance stimulant. Motivating incentives that can offset the employee’s financial remuneration become a competitive advantage for businesses. Recently, the state has been helping businesses to stimulate employees properly through holiday vouchers. In the future, it expected that it would be just incentive elements that will attract potential employees to companies and secondly it will be the financial evaluation of the employee. Slovak society can be inspired in many ways by other European Union countries. In contrast, the Slovak Republic still has many professionals in the areas of health, education, engineering, and many others. The paper points to changes related to the demographic development of the company, the change of motivation for permanent and new employees. The aim is to anticipate the possible development of incentives and the incorporation of new elements of motivation into human resource management in companies. Autoregres prepared in MATLAB. The article deals with the prediction of the selection of individual incentives for specific age groups of employees.

The aim of the work is to identify gaps in the regulatory framework containing the rules and procedures for the actions of persons participating in the civil law process, in the presence of external factors, namely, during a pandemic, in order to improve procedural legislation based on the relevant experience of different countries. When conducting a study of legislation, judicial acts regulating the possibility of administering justice under quarantine conditions, general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, forecasting, as well as specific scientific methods - comparative legal, formal logical, forecasting, were used. The regulatory framework, acts of courts regulating the issues of administering justice in conditions of self-isolation were analyzed. The features of the impact of the pandemic on judicial activities in Russia, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the European Union, as well as in the UK were revealed. Remote means of communication with the court were investigated, as well as consideration of a court case in a civil law process using the means of online interaction. In Russia, the pandemic, along with the use of electronic justice through the systems Moy Arbitr and Pravosudie, became an incentive for the introduction of online meetings in arbitration courts, various types of web conferences. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, quarantine measures became the reason for the greater use of the TrueConf service, the mobile courtroom. The European Union increased the interaction of courts in a distance format with the help of the European eJustice portal. The UK is distinguished by its progressive approach to the legislative settlement of the circumstances associated with remote proceedings. The tasks of electronic justice are set, which must be solved by Russia in an emergency situation. In conclusion, the authors infer that the pandemic had an impact on the introduction of new information technologies in the civil process. The technical component of e-justice is important, but it is impossible to ensure its implementation without fixing the procedural rules in the relevant codified sources. Despite the fact that the legal proceedings in Russia are at a high level and an example in this issue for other countries, it is necessary to refer to the experience of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where a special mobile application TrueConf was developed, which does not require stationary equipment and is more accessible to citizens without contacting specialists. As for the UK, in the authors' opinion, it is worth paying attention to the responsiveness of the legislature regarding the issues that need to be resolved in order to normalize the work of the judicial system in emergency situations during the pandemic.

From Portugal to Bulgaria, from Finland to Greece, photographer Valerio Vincenzo zigzagged along the length of nearly 20,000 kilometers of borders between the countries that are part of the European Union and/or the Schengen Area. Considering Europe’s history over the 19th and 20th centuries, full of scars, walls and trenches, these images document a silent revolution. Barely sixty years ago, the Schengen Area was merely a utopian notion. This photographic work shows a utopia that has become reality. Europe received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 for such an achievement. The Nobel Committee stated, ‘The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.’ Today, the final words of this statement are being called into question, as indeed are the construction of Europe and the Schengen Area, too. Is Europe caught in a dilemma between its values and the pragmatic difficulty of enforcing them? Will the images included in this project end up relegated to history books, witnesses to a bygone age? Borderline, Frontiers of Peace was awarded the 2013 Louise Weiss Prize for European Journalism, the first time that such an award has been granted to a photo project. The project has been exhibited numerous times, notably at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 2015, St. Petersburg (Russia) in 2016, Brest and Orléans (France), Zagreb and Vukovar (Croatia) in 2017, Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) and the fortress of Salses (France) in 2018, Amiens (France), Berlin and Bamberg (Germany) in 2019, Tallinn (Estonia) and Lübeck (Germany) in 2020, and Strasbourg (France) and Cuneo (Italy) in 2021. Valerio Vincenzo is currently extending his project to the now peaceful borders of the Balkans.

The article is devoted to the study of the types of international judicial institutions and their role in ensuring theright to judicial protection. It is noted that the Manila Declaration provides for a judicial settlement of disputes andarbitration. The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The InternationalCriminal Court is the permanent body with jurisdiction over persons responsible for particularly serious crimes, inaddition to national criminal jurisdictions. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an independent, conven-tional body whose function is to protect human rights in the states of North and South America. The Arab Court ofHuman Rights has not yet begun its work, although the Court’s mandate allows States parties to lodge complaints.The African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights is an independent body whose purpose is to protect human rightsin African countries. The jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights extends to all matters of interpretationand application of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its protocols.The Court of Justice of the European Union interprets EU law and provides for the settlement of disputes by the EU’snational government-institutions. It is emphasized that regional judicial institutions are designed to protect the rightsand freedoms of man and citizen. They are part of a subsidiary human rights protection mechanism that can be applied once all national remedies have been exhausted. Recourse to the International Court of Justice or arbitration isnot an unfriendly act in relations between states, but on the contrary indicates the use of peaceful means of dispute settlement. Unlike other international courts, only international criminal tribunals can be joined in a single proceeding.

This article explores the main approaches of Russian and foreign authors towards big data definition; reflects the classification of data, components of big data; and provides comparative characteristics to legal regulation of big data. The subject of this research is the legislation of the Russian Federation and legislation of the European Union that regulate the activity on collection, processing and use of big data, personal data and information; judicial and arbitration practice of the Russian Federation in the sphere of personal data; normative legal acts of the Russian Federation; governmental regulation of the Russian Federation and foreign countries in the area of processing, use and transmission of data; as well as legal doctrine in the field of research dedicated to the nature of big data. The relevance of this research is substantiated by the fact that there is yet no conceptual uniformity with regards to big data in the world; the essence and methods of regulating big data are not fully explored. The goal of this research is determine the legal qualification of the data that comprise big data. The task lies in giving definition to the term &ldquo;big data&rdquo;; demonstrate the approaches towards determination of legal nature of big data; conduct &nbsp;classification of big data; outline the criteria for distinguishing data that comprise the concept of big data; formulate the model for optimal regulation of relations in the process of activity on collection, processing, and use of the data. The original definition of big data in the narrow and broad sense is provided. As a result, the author distinguishes the types of data, reflects the legal qualification of data depending on the category of data contained therein: industrial data, user data, and personal data. Attention is also turned to the contractual form of big data circulation.

The article examines the legal nature of digital assets and big data, provides a classification of digital assets, and provides a comparison and analysis of digital assets and big data. The article defines the concept and features of digital assets. The subject of the research in this article is the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of artificial intelligence, digital assets, the legislation of the European Union in the field of big data regulation, the judicial and arbitration practice of the Russian Federation in the field of personal data, regulatory legal acts, acts of state regulation of the Russian Federation and foreign countries in the field of data processing, use, transmission and legal doctrine in the field of research on the nature of digital assets and big data. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that in Russia there is no conceptual unity in relation to digital assets and big data, the correlation of these concepts has not been fully investigated. The purpose of the study is to clarify the qualification of big data as digital assets. The objectives of the research are to define the concept and features of digital assets and big data, the relationship between the concepts of digital assets and big data, and the definition of ways to qualify big data as digital assets. As a result of the study, the concept and features of digital assets are defined, the concept and features of big data are defined. Digital assets are defined as a collective category of objects characterized by signs of digital form, virtuality of the nature of the asset, turnover, economic value, extraterritoriality. The conclusion reflects that big data can act as a digital asset, if the result of big data matches the characteristics of digital assets.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the economic and legal rationale for the use of the competitive dialogue in complex procurement. The authors use the data set of public contracts awarded by European Union (EU) member states between 2010 and 2017 to analyse its usage patterns. In particular, the authors identify the types of contracting authorities that mainly use the procedure, the sectors and contract characteristics and the role of institutional factors related to the country’s perceived corruption and level of innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss economic and legal issues in the use of the competitive dialogue. The authors use a data set of public contracts awarded by EU member states, published on the EU’s public procurement portal Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) to analyse usage patterns and explore the types of contracting authorities that use the procedure, the sectors and type of tenders. The data covers a sample of 1.242.090 observations, which relates to all the contract award notices published on TED in the period 2010-2017 for all the 28 European member states. A probit model is used as a methodology. Findings The empirical analysis reveals that the use of competitive value is greater for larger value contracts, for national rather than local authorities, for the supply of other manufactured products and machinery; for research and development and business, as well as information technology services; and for construction works. The level of perceived corruption and the gross domestic product/capita do not have explanatory power in the use of the procedure, whilst a country’s degree of innovativeness, as measured by the global innovation index, positively affects the probability of adopting the procedure. A decreasing trend in the use of competitive dialogue over time is observed. Research limitations/implications In conclusion, the countries examined benefited from a long tradition of public–private partnerships (PPPs) and from a transposition of the 2004 directive, able to provide an inclusive interpretation of complexity, and therefore, stimulate the adoption of the competitive dialogue in different sectors. Conversely, the countries, which postponed a concrete transposition and the overcoming of the confusing concept of complexity, limited the scope for the application of competitive dialogue, relying on the easier alternative: the negotiated procedure. Those circumstances lead to visible difficulties in stimulating the adoption of the procedure even in the traditional sectors; indeed, only with the new directive’s provisions a slight change in the trend can be seen. Practical implications To foster the use of the competitive dialogue in countries that have so far used it to a limited extent is important to improve upon the definition of complexity and learn from the experience of the top usage countries, as identified in the analysis. Social implications Helping the use of the procedure may facilitate the procurement of complex contracts such as PPPs, and thus, ease the building and management of public infrastructures for the provision of public services. Originality/value The authors are not aware of previous studies that have used the TED data set and studied the law in a number of European countries so as to understand the usage patterns for the competitive dialogue.

Medhat (Med) M. Kamal Medhat (Med) M. Kamal is a Chevron Fellow Emeritus and an Honorary Member of SPE. He previously worked for Cairo University, Amoco Production Company, Flopetrol Schlumberger, and ARCO Exploration and Production Company. Kamal has more than 45 years of industry experience in well testing, reservoir description, and production and reservoir engineering. He was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 1997–1998 and 2018–2019 during which he presented his lectures more than 80 times in 35 countries. He served as a member and chairman of SPE Annual Meeting Well Testing subcommittee and textbook and monograph committees, and as executive editor, associate editor, and technical reviewer for SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering and the Journal of Petroleum Technology. He chaired the first SPE conference on research and development in 2007 and the Western Regional Meeting (2019). He served on the boards of directors of Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast, Dallas, and Golden Gate sections of SPE and chaired the Dallas and Golden Gate sections. He also served on the SPE International Board of Directors (2007–2009) as the Regional Director of Western North America. Kamal has been recognized with several regional and international awards including the SPE Cedric K. Ferguson Medal, SPE Formation Evaluation Award, SPE Distinguished Service Award, SPE North and East Texas Regional Service Award, and the Texas Petroleum Engineer of the Year Award. He holds a BSc in petroleum engineering and an MSc in engineering from Cairo University and an MS and PhD in petroleum engineering with a minor in computer science from Stanford University. Let’s begin with a brief introduction of the theme you’ve selected for your presidency, Petroleum++. What will you be emphasizing? There are three elements to this theme: petroleum, the first plus, and the second plus. Let me explain them one at a time. “Petroleum” refers to the challenges petroleum engineers face now and for the foreseeable future to provide the world with the hydrocarbon energy it needs. By hydrocarbons, I mean oil and natural gas, not coal. We can think of the entities that study and predict the world’s future need for energy as three groups: the government entities like the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the European Union International Energy Agency (IEA); the major international operators like ExxonMobil, Shell, etc.; and the national oil companies. The predictions provided by all three groups indicate the oil and natural gas share in the energy mix may decline slightly from a little over 50% currently to a little below 50% by 2050. However, the needed volume of hydrocarbons will increase as the world population moves from around 8 billion now to about 9.8 billion in 30 years and as the standard of living continues to improve in the developing regions such as Africa and Asia. When we look at the world’s current reserves and the current technology to produce these, you can add things up and see that we must continue our technical advancements to meet the growing demand for energy.

The process of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom form the European Union has been discussed predominantly from a political and economic point of view. However, the consequences are more far reaching. With UK on the doorstep of leaving the EU, the decisions issued by its courts would no longer benefit from the recognition system provided in the Brussels Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001). As a result of this, it is expected that London would no longer be seen as a primary destination for international litigants.In the awaiting of the aftermath from the Brexit, other cities and member state countries of the EU have started the race to position themselves as the next “legal hub”. While other member states have been vocal about offering alternative courts, so far France has been at the forefront of this initiative. On 7 February 2018 two Protocols were signed by the French Minister of Justice, the President of the Paris Bar, and the presidents of the Paris Court of Appeal and the Paris Commercial Court. With the first protocol amendments were made to the already existing International Chamber within the Paris Commercial Court, whereas with the second Protocol a new International Chamber has been created within the Paris Court of Appeal. The aim of the creation of these international divisions within the Paris Court is to create an attractive jurisdictional system which would meet the expectations of the economic actors. Paris has already been one of the most important world centers for dispute resolution as a result of the work of the International Chamber of Commerce and its work in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). However, with this initiative Paris has an opportunity to further strengthen its attractiveness.The adoption of the two Protocols is a groundbreaking move which sets forth innovative rules of procedure, incorporating unique approaches in the field of international commercial litigation. The rules of procedure contain an increased level of flexibility offering the parties a chance for litigations with great similarity to arbitration. Most notably, the new Protocols provide for the usage of English as language in the course of the proceedings, adapted procedure which should better suit the need of the parties, focus on oral testimonies instead of written witness and expert submissions, possibility for cross – examination, broader scope of tools for securing evidence, such as requests for document production, as well as the possibility of non- French lawyers to appear in front of the Courts. The aim of this article is to provide an insight in the new structure of the International Chambers by reviewing the novelties in the two new Protocols. The article reflects on similar initiatives which have been undertaken in other EU members and countries worldwide, and whether this can be the starting point for more drastic and revolutionary reforms in the traditional litigation system.

For the first time the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences, IASCYS, ( http://iascys.org), has awarded the Charles François International Prize, during the 10thUES-EUS Congress (http://ues-eus.eu), in Brussels, Belgium, Europe. The first step of the procedure was the nomination of interesting papers through asking for the reviewing process by all IASCYS Academicians. So, 6 weeks before the start of the meeting, a booklet of 40 abstracts, all previously anonymously peer-reviewed by the scientific committee of the congress, and each as a 1 page of text, with neither author(s) name(s), nor affiliation(s) or references, was sent to all Academicians. After a 1 month delay, 10 papers of people from 9 Countries (Algeria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Russia), have been nominated by Academicians, by e-mails replies. After the congress organizers have proposed as jurors a team of 3 systems scientists who all are speaking both French and English (the official formal languages of the UES-EUS congress), an equal number of 3 Academicians, who are as well fluent in English, French and other languages, attended as the IASCYS part of the jury. After this key step of peers pre-selection, the second step, during the meeting in Brussels, was for all 6 jurors to listen and participate to the corresponding talks-debate for each of the selected papers, in order to rank the top 3 of the most promising works, and then to reflect on the final ranking for the award. The jurors were anonymous. The listening process was the usual process of talk (20 min) and questions (10 min) with the public as in every congress, but also with personal no-formal discussion of jurors with the nominated persons. The first Charles François International Prize of the Academy (gold medal) was awarded to Julio LABORDE, a young Chilean research engineer who is working in the International industrial firm 'Insight Signals'. He is also a student in the prestigious École Pratique des Hautes Études, in Paris, France. His talk was about "Extraction of Information from Agent Base Models. A new pre-topological metric for controlling the propagation of crises." It took place during the 'Methods and tools for risk management of complex socio-technical systems'session. No discussion, his work was the most promising work of the congress. His work was the most promising work of this congress of the European Union for Systemics.This second step allows also, after a debate, to award 3 second places (3 silver medals). They all got the Charles François tutorial in Systems Science on a USB stick and they all, gold and silver medals (Figure 1), will have a certificate of ranking. But, all of them, will get their certificates of award/ranking only after their paper proof will be corrected and accepted. The other 3 certificated persons, silver medals, are (by alphabetic order): -Mick ASHBY, a research engineer in computing sciences who is working for IBM in Germany. His work was about the application of a new paradigm 'The Ethical Regulator Theorem'; -Tjorven HARMSEN, a very young Swedish women who is in Ph. D. in the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, in Berlin (Germany). Her work was ab out 'Crisis as Social Autocatalysis. On the emergence and Utilization of Opportunities' (a very promising talk, a young researcher to follow; and -Daniela TERRILE, a women who is Professor in the Department of Design at the Polytechnic Institute of Milano, Italy. Her work was about 'Applications of the Target Constellation Model'. 2 other works were also very interesting but one was not into the book of abstracts (it was not peer-reviewed), the other one was into it but it was not pre-selected. No process is perfect. But the rule is the rule: no peer-reviewing, no preselection, means no competition. The important point is that few of the 'preselected and nominated, but not ranked in the top 3' participants said they will attend the next one edition of the Prize in Morocco. And other young researchers said they will do their best to attend another occurrence of the Prize. The Prize was opened to strengthen multi-disciplinary research and the multi-language communication of recent results, towards a worldwide education in Cybernetics and Systems Thinking (Bricage, 2017), which are aims of the Academy (Bricage, 2014). “Want to influence the world? Map reveals the best languages to speak.” (Ronen et al., 2014). On the IASCYS website you will find the rules of the Prize, in English, Spanish, French and Russian.

On 8th June 2020 Vladimir Putin signed into law a new bill amending Russian Commercial Code (RCC) introducing provisions that enable sanctioned persons to sue in Russian commercial courts their foreign counterparts irrespective of jurisdiction clause within the contract signed or international treaty. The main sponsor has given his name to the new Law, which is already known as Lugovoy Law. The sense of the Parliament was that to provide Russian sanctioned persons and their affiliates (both domestic and foreign) with extra support vis-à-vis ongoing and forthcoming litigations abroad. As of now, the RCC is supplemented by sections 248.1 and 248.2 and the commercial courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving persons that are subject to restrictive measures. The Law neither list countries and jurisdictions that shall impose sanctions on the Russian plaintiffs, nor specify type of restrictive measures. For instance, the Russian company sanctioned solely by Ukraine may prevent LCIA arbitration or High Court proceedings in England at the suit of its British opponent. In doing so, the Russian sanctioned Plaintiff is required adducing evidence to show deprivation from right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial abroad. Pursuant to the Lugovoy Law, the Plaintiff could be either an individual or a legal entity including foreign ones and be subject of restrictive measures imposed by any foreign country, union of states or by a body of certain interstate community. The Plaintiff’s home commercial court shall have inherent jurisdiction to entertain cases arising out of the new Lugovoy Law. Meanwhile section 248.2 of RCC enables sanctioned persons to seek injunctive relief precluding foreign opponents either commencing or continuing court proceedings in foreign fora. It is a kind of ex parte anti-suit injunction previously unknown to the Russian legal order. The sanctioned person may invoke 248.2 relief once mailed by opponent’s pre-trial letter. In support of the anti-suit injunction the Lugovoy Law allows sanctioned persons asking the court to order for security for costs. However, the amount sought shall not exceed the sum at stake in the main proceedings. Both orders made under the Lugovoy Law may be challenged on appeal at the Circuit Commercial court within one month. At the outcome, the protectionist logic of the legislature made foreign non-residents extraterritorially amenable to the jurisdiction of Russian commercial courts irrespective their personal law. This might provoke competition between jurisdictions and the emergence of two judicial acts on a dispute between the same persons on the same subject and grounds. If the major actors of the Russian economy decide to recourse to the provisions of the new law in disputes that have nothing to do with sanctions that may entail international tensions. The real purpose of the Lugovoy law is to create an extra tool to protect sanctioned persons and their interests. The opponents of those persons designated under some sanctions program shall not be able to recognise and enforce on the territory of Russia a judgment or arbitral award that in some extent appears to disadvantage Russian sanctioned persons. The author was followed by the objective to discover background and reasons behind the Lugovoy Law, as well as to attempt establishing its beneficiaries. Examining court proceedings versus Russian sanctioned persons abroad that have been commenced or disposed of within a month prior Andrei Lugovoy introduced his bill, it were found situations the Lugovoy Law would like to prevent and persons it tries to protect beforehand. In addition to this, the research focused on cases in Russian commercial courts wherein the Plaintiffs were trying to persuade the Commercial courts to apply the principles of Lugovoy bill before it has become law.

The main reasons for climate change which are explained in this article are as follows: -Climate pollution by gases with CO2 emission and Greenhouse Effect; Climate contamination of viruses with viruses from nature by animals or glaciers when thawing or produced in Laboratories; Induced Climate Change due to meteorological weapons with high intensity radio waves to produce rains, hurricanes and possible induction of earthquakes; Climate pollution by radiation due wars with irreversible consequences in the climate and Nuclear Winter; Climate Change due the explosion of missiles and atomic weapons in the oceans; Climate Change due the natural cyclical phases of the Earth affected by the cyclical variations of the Earth's magnetic field lines which can be affected by the severe cyclical activity of the sun due storms and sunspot because of the combustion that occurs inside the Sun which is due to the gravitational instabilities produced by the planets of the solar system, asteroids or the Comet Planet; Climate Change due to the invading Comet Planet into the solar system that affects with its gravitational field to the sun with solar storms and the planets with variation of the magnetic field lines affecting the climate, earthquakes and activation of volcanoes and indeed with the entry of many meteors and asteroids to the Earth; Climate change due to the Arm of God Allah explaining all the above reasons being more evident in times of Tribulation. The specific methods and devices of the control and manipulation of the population (inclusive to induce to the concupiscence) in times of new world order (Universal Big Brother Program for the control of human in the Earth) and possible Tribulation are explained in this article: Surveillance programs with all technological devices and networks used by humans systematic methods of persuasive manipulation and indoctrination used by some zombie humans and dark; Through the subjugation of employees and humans (inclusive children teaching them how to manipulate in the same style of the zombies); By enterprises or dark groups so that employees make manipulation games with details (investing work time to play like children) receiving bribes, money or labor benefits or with possible retaliation if they do not obey; Surveillance programs in living and working places with covert technological cameras, coincidence games, activities, plans and events programmed in sequence (inclusive pyrotechnic sounds in sequence); Covert numbers and words (in identification documents, cards, car plates, devices used by humans); Encrypted, hidden codes or small phrases and numbers not visible to the naked eye concealed in objects; Covert words in the speech of zombie humans and from multimedia and channels of traditional technological devices through movies, programs and even newscasts and inclusive to speak in code with the humans who know the surveillance programs and worst using in those channels and programs derogatory words against the Nazarenes (in the style of Nazism with the Jews) in complicity of close acquaintances, zombies and dark who participate profiting from the system for the vile metal; By means of an epidemic and viruses produced in laboratories creating epidemics and chaos in the Earth for the reduction and control of the population; Through strict restrictions and reduction of freedoms; Confinement with subsequent compulsory vaccination to be able to access human rights such as the right to work and the right to travel (with the cover-up of the respective organizations responsibles for it: OIT OMT), without responsibility of the authorities in charge of vaccination worldwide (OMS) for the short or long term counterproductive effects of the vaccinated population due to the risk with the liquid of the vaccines by interfering with the DNA and RNA of the population; Possible marking and elimination of many humans (possibility of control of the pulmonary alveoly or induction controlled of diseases or pain due a virus by means of chips introduced in humans); Control of humans by the introduction of liquid and solid chips in humans (liquid crystals that crystallize in the organism and settle in neurons and receive ultrasonic waves of very low frequency) (possibly inserted from vaccines in global epidemiological programs for population control or invasive medical examination when this is not necessary as a figurative example of review of a patient with a sore in the mouth and introduction of the whole hand in the throat or prostate examination or specific injections to certain objective humans or Nazarenes who have opened the matrix of the darks and the elite that controls the humans in the Earth) in times of epidemic in medical examinations and treatments in hospitals (false medical negligence with breach of the medical oath of the use of Medicine for human good). The possible liquid and solid chips introduced into the human being can be used for mind reading (telepath) and thought induction (double direction: sending and receiving messages in the style of Stephen Hawking and the style of the technology already used in sending probes into space and to the moon) and possible human marking with surveillance program and the possible creation of zombie humans. Humans who have the mind reader chip installed can speak without speaking (the dumb speak playing like the miracles of Jesus Christ). It is possible to detect if the humans who have the mental reading chip installed have psychological alterations without going to a doctor. It is possible to know if humans are good or bad without seeing their actions and without going to a priest. In this way, human beings with the chip installed can be sanctioned before they do somewhat wrong (simply because it is known to be thinking). This can be used to know the fidelity to a political guideline or direction (this is known by the strong rumor in communist countries that already have the technology to detect the fidelity to the political party and possibly this is through this chip installed in the human being and mind reading). The inserted chip can also perform thought induction: this is possibly the apocalyptic mark mentioned in the apocalypse because many humans will perform sins or concupiscence induced and not naturally. Then, this will most probably activate the Wrath of God, the seals, and the trumpets of the apocalypse. It surprises me that actually the OMS wants to bring the vaccination program to Africa when in Africa there are not many dead by the epidemy (possibly for the control and reduction of the population will be in all the Earth). Afterward, the OMS mentioned that wants to insert a manufacturing center of vaccines in many countries and inclusive vigilance programs (possibly for the control and reduction of the population will be effective at the local level). But, what the OMS needs to mention is that it is necessary to eliminate the laboratories of virus creation and not create more vaccine laboratories. Humans do not want more vaccine and injections and laboratories for the creation of vaccines but the elimination of virus laboratories which are most probably used for for the control and reduction of the population: thus, the reason for spreading a virus created in a laboratoy across the Earth is evident: population reduction and control of humanity in preparation for a global elite program (new world order or program 2030 for the control of the dark and of the elite; Connection of covert surveillance cameras (in living and working places) with channels of traditional technological devices through movies, programs and even newscasts (including newscasts that usually make signs of dumb and deaf to those who have already discovered them) used by the dark with the respective programs and in addition, to monitor and tracing to verify the induction to concupiscence through mental reading (chips in humans) and surveillance cameras on line in the best style of James Bond espionage movies (including control of faces, pupils, irises, reflections, details and diseases); Games of judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes (playing at being gods) and also profiting from the vile metal through the system and contributing to the persecution of the Nazarenes; Fake judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes because many of these sins have been induced with technology due the possible induction of thoughts by the liquid cristal settle in neurons and have not been natural (dark inducing sin through technology and playing gods to induce evil and destruction of intimacy and privacy even in the mind of the human being); Retaliation to those who report the surveillance and manipulation programs and marking of humans for mind reading (telepathy) and thought induction (making them sick sending to the hospitals or removing them); Digital identification plan and digital money to do digital control and avoid conflict and protests of marked and Nazarenes in surveillance programs who discover that there is no privacy in their documents and inclusive in theirs mind (telepathy: mind reading and thought induction: artificial intelligence): it surprises that EU mention that has a digital plan for europeans for digital control on line. But, before the epidemy, Europe and the world advanced a lot in technology and the data of humans are digitally in hospitals and institutes that humans need. After, the EU mentions artificial intelligence for human beings. Then and in vaccination and epidemy time, it is possible that the digital control is a new digital control with artifitial intelligence and with possible chips installed in the human being (possibly already installed in many human beings); Games of events and coincidences to cause accidents or conflicts in the life of marked, target or Nazarenes (change games of victim to accused by companies that regulate the order with subsequent rectification of the game made by the same companies when the Nazarenes claim); Games of recognition of the identity of human beings (in the style of the movie Unknown) by enterprises and service stations which are necessary for the daily movement of human beings creating conflicts of manipulation and stress in the marked or Nazarenes Salary payment games (payment of wages with dinners and game of check payment) creating manipulation conflicts and stress in the life of marked, target or Nazarenes Programmed plans of theft and scams of enterprises and humans even knowing of the surveillance cameras for the control of the marked, target or Nazarenes. Then, there is severe control of human beings in their daily activities to verify the follow-up of the matrix and darks that plan situations of concupiscence in the human being. Besides, this is occurring in coincidence with an accelerated new world order program and possible tribulation times and possibly already with the installation of the apocalyptic mark (possible chips introduced in the human being for mind reading and thought induction to induce concupiscence) in humans mentioned in the apocalypse for dark control of humans. The global forms of the severe manipulation and population control in times of new world order and Tribulation are explained in this article are as follows: By increasing taxes; Through armed conflicts and wars create discord, wars and chaos between countries (often bordering countries with the same origins and with the same culture: Russia and Ukraine: war motivated by US OTAN EU): To later usurp its resources (oil energy resource: US Iraq Kuwait); To later control them politically and economically (US Iraq Kuwait) and when these power or developed countries cannot control or usurp their resources, they begin to block them economically (Russia in the war between Russia and Ukraine where besides developed countries influence in the war by printing additional money to use for the war causing imbalance and global economic crisis instead of looking for ways to avoid it) in order to cause chaos and economic crisis with the knowledge and complicity of the world organizations responsible (OEA ONU) and make the population believe that the cause of the economic crisis is the government in power. However, some countries have resisted these blockades (Cuba Venezuela Nicaragua Russia China) and managed to show that it is possible to have governments independent of the control of these powers or countries that believe they own the Earth; To put rulers (governing) of interest in the same countries in conflict; To control them using the pretext of placing military bases in the countries in conflict (NATO OTAN: military bases in some European countries, US military bases: in some South American countries and some countries of Europe). In addition, this is preferable to reduce military bases in other countries and reduction of nuclear weapons, and use the financial resources for the reduction of inequity and poverty on the Earth. Thus, the organizations responsible for the proliferation of nuclear weapons (OIEA) have played an ineffective and passive (cover-up) role, which has caused the risk of a third nuclear world war to be imminent); Through the war against terror: however and actually, this is a false speech used to point to countries that oppose the control or directive of the powers and that have a culture or political structure different from that of the powers and later make conflict and war to later control them or usurp their resources (some Arab and Muslim countries, for example, US, Irak, Lybia and blaming an entire country for terrorism and occupying for years (Afganistán)). In this way and actually, some countries have developed nuclear weapons (North Korea, Iran) to protect themselves in some way and thus, the same thing does not happen to them as to the countries mentioned above (Irak, Lybia) and that have been destroyed with the false discourse of the war against terror. In this way, the best thing is to have good relations with all the countries of the Earth which are again summed in the Bible [1] in a message: Love your brother (all human beings) as yourself! (Mt.22-39) (and not to go around the Earth pointing out terrorists to any country that opposes its guidelines). Therefore, it is possible to reduce the economic resources for the war against terror which can be used to reduce poverty and inequity in human beings; Through the war against drugs: there are many other substances and products consumed by humans that can be harmful to health and that are allowed and have not become a vice (when something is forbidden: this increases the interest in obtaining it explained from the beginning of creation in Genesis [1]: an apple from the tree of good and evil in the garden of Eden: Adam and Eve). In addition, many countries have allowed the use of certain types of drugs for medical purposes (Uruguay, Bolivia) where drug use has gone unnoticed in these countries; Through religión: with a structure of religion that tries to control the population through a guideline and speeches that obey the Vatican and the actual governments of each country (which is evident when there are countries such as Nicaragua that do not follow a guideline of the church and the elite and then, the religion surprisingly actively intervenes in politics): the conclusion is reached and to which many humans have reached, that religion is a power most actually used (along with political and economic power); Through political power by means of the false argument used by politicians to reduce inequity and poverty: where a large amount of resources and money have been allocated to the political powers and rulers of many countries for centuries by the respective organizations responsable (FMI BM) without any results and in many countries poverty and inequity have increased. Besides, the bureaucracy is a structure of order and rules of management and administration used within the governments of each country that contribute to the inefficiency and manipulation of the required procedures in human life that ultimately affect the life of each human being when they require formalities that end up being complicated and time-consuming. Then, this power structure in politics, economics, and religion for the control of the population is ineffective and obeys the interests of the dark who control humans on the Earth, and is used ineffectively by the rulers (governing) of the countries who come to power precisely with the false discourse of reducing poverty and inequity; Through the pretext of climate change: severe climate change due to the emission of CO2 and the greenhouse effect is a complete fallacy. The world organizations involved with the climate (ONU) try to make humanity believe that this is the reason for the severe climatic changes that the human being has experienced on the Earth to obtain economic resources and avoid mentioning God in control of the Earth and course the climate and to avoid mentioning the Omnipotence of God [1] in the control of the Earth and the climate: the severe climate change is frequently due to solar storms and variations in the magnetic field lines of the Earth because of gravitational variations in the solar system or due to the entry of an asteroid or Comet Planet what is controlled and all the Universe by God. Therefore, the climate change is controlled by the Eternal God (wich is explained in the Bibles with a lot of examples with Moses, Josue, Hezekiah) and thus, this is better to use the resources and money for so-called climate change to reduce poverty and inequity in the Earth and increase equity in humans: Human Beings must not believe everything said by the organizations and individuals that control the humans in the Earth and that obey the directions imposed within the matrix triangle of control of the Earth; Through the sport by means of the persuasive manipulation of observers or attendees at sporting events through commercials programs, commentators (hidden words and numbers in speech), players participating in the match: with gestures or sequence of plays, numbers, words or details in the players uniform, referees (make decisión of plays in favor of a team purposely: false bad arbitration) or leading organizers committing sports corruption not applying the rules or discriminating players (Serbian, Russian and Belarusian tennis players at tennis competitions due to some tennis organizations) or teams (Russian sports clubs and inclusive the Russian national team due FIFA decision) at convenience. Besides, when there are countries in conflict or war: instead of uniting the countries in conflict by means of the sport, the respective organizations (FIFA UEFA) discriminate and increase the conflict: discriminating and not allowing the participation of tennis players (including top tennis players), Football Countries and Sport Clubs in international competitions for reasons of restrictions due to the epidemic, conflict or war (including countries that organized previous World Cups: Russia) where the interest, quality and love for this sport has increased and that must be used to unite human beings and countries and not to not allow them to participate: which increases the division and conflict between countries or humans: This is important to highlight and value the position of the ATP for deciding that the ATP does not agree that athletes from certain countries (Russia and Belarus) cannot participate in international tournaments stating that this is against the principles of merit and non-discrimination: then, this is tremendously criticizable that the organization responsible of Football (FIFA UEFA) participates in armed conflicts or war with discriminatory decisions in Football, increasing the war by not allowing countries in conflict to participate in World Cup of Football: FIFA slogan of no to racism and some form of discrimination is a complete farce and used for convenience and interest (in the same style of all the other organizations (mainly ONU, OEA, FMI, BM, VATICAN) that control humans and that in 2000 years of the coming of the Envoy of God have not been able to solve iniquity and poverty), discrimination that has been evident in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: Football is the main sport in the Earth and it is the one that can unite human beings the most and should be used as a source of union and not división; Through education: where this is used by many countries to induce and manipulate their inhabitants in a certain political direction through the dissemination of knowledge and even the textbooks of the students: many underdeveloped countries have increased illiteracy and degradation in education because this favors the politicians of the country's government: having an ignorant people who do not see what they do with the country's money and who cannot criticize them: the greatness of peoples depends on the education that gives the independence of individuals who are the ones that make the country advance; Through world organizations to control countries: ONU, OEA, Vatican, OTAN, UE: many countries have to obey the guidelines of these organizations, which often do not respond to the needs of the citizens of each country: many institutions in the countries must obey the organizations (the Vatican for the religion) in a rigid way, which is often not in accordance with the situation of the country's citizens, who often need new variants or guidelines (some organizations can cause chaos, conflict or war as for example the war of Russia with Ucrania where the possible annexation of Ucrania to the OTAN and UE is one of the reasons for the war between these two countries. Therefore, there would be no war between these two countries where without those organizations); Through world organizations of espionage (CIA, FBI, KGB, Gestapo, SS): employing persuasive interference in the countries and rulers of some undeveloped countries (some South America and Center America countries and some European, Asia and Africa countries) with the objective of the power countries of control, manipulate or destabilize countries and inclusive simple humans (using the personal data of thousands of people around the world). Through the control and intervention of the Creator God Allah which is necessary and essential in times of Tribulation at the time timely (Holy Bible: Apoc. 6 Apoc. 8:6 Apoc. 5 Apoc. 7 Apoc. 21) due to everything mentioned in this scientific research respect to the control and manipulation of the population (regarding the increase of inequity, discord, and evil among humans) which is not following the guideline given by the envoy of God 2000 years ago: Jesus Christ. Keywords: God, Allah, Jesuchrist, Bible, Creator, Education, Climate change, Population Control, Climate Pollution, Gases CO2, Greenhouse Effect, Epidemic, Viruses, Laboratory, Zombies, Dark, Elite, new world order, OMS, ONU, OEA, Vatican, OTAN, UE, FMI, BM, OIT, OMT, Meteorological weapons, Haarp, Sura, Wars, Sport, Religion, Radiation, Nuclear Winter, Sun, Magnetic field lines, Storms, Asteroids, Comet Planet, Volcanoes, Climate Catastrophies, Tribulation, Taxes, Terror, Drugs, Organizations, Inequity, Poverty, Manipulation, Indoctrination, Technological Devices, Covert technological devices, networks, Newscasts, Surveillance programs, Big Brother Program, Digital Identification Plan, Digital Money, Covert numbers and covert words, Encrypted, Hidden codes or small phrases not visible to the naked eye, Covert words in the speech of zombie humans in multimedia and traditional technological devices, Nazism, Jews, Coincidence games, Activities, Plans, Events Programmed in sequence, Pyrotechnic sounds in sequence, Games of events and coincidences to cause accidents or conflicts, Games of judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes, Games of recognition of the identity of human beings, Unknown, Companies, Service stations, Salary payment games, Programmed plans of theft and scams of companies and enterprises, Retaliation, Marking, Reduction, False medical negligence, Medical oath, Medicine, Liquid and solid chips in humans, Liquid crystals, Neurons, Ultrasonic waves, Vaccines, Global epidemiological programs, Matrix, Dark, Elite, Mind Reading, Telepath, Thought induction, Apocalipse, Wrath of God.

AbstractThe present article examines problems of personal jurisdiction and of the recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitration awards in the Republic of Armenia and in the Russian Federation. The author reviews the relevant international best practices, especially on the European Union level, and the relevant provisions of Armenian and Russian legislation on personal jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments.Problems of international jurisdiction and enforcement are becoming more apparent due to globalization trends and the increasing involvement in cross-country trade of the two countries that are the focus of this work. Therefore, issues dealing with personal jurisdiction need to be carefully reviewed.A similar review of the applicable international conventions on the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and arbitral awards is made with proper to Armenian and Russian legislation. Being based on the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law, Russian legislation poses fewer problems for practitioners than does Armenian legislation. Again, economic developments will force—in this case mostly—Armenia to address problems of the type that are identified in this work with respect to arbitration awards.

141Arbitration — Arbitration between two Member States of European Union — Delimitation of maritime and land borders — Arbitration agreement breached — Arbitration agreement unilaterally terminated — Final arbitration award — Validity of arbitration award contested — Arbitration award not implemented — Relationship between arbitration agreement and European Union law — European Union not a party to arbitration agreement between Member StatesJurisdiction — Treaties — European Union — Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union — Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 2007 — Article 259 — Alleged failure of Member State to fulfil obligations — Competence of the European Union in border dispute — Alleged infringements of EU law ancillary to alleged infringement of arbitration agreement — Relationship between European Union law and arbitration agreement and awardInternational tribunals — Arbitration agreement — International law governing arbitration agreement — Arbitration award — Relationship between arbitration agreement and arbitration award and European Union law — Obligations of Member States of the European Union — Accession to European Union — Arbitration agreement referred to in accession agreement — Validity of arbitration award contested — Competence of European Union in border dispute — Ratione materiae of European Union law with respect to international legal instrumentsInternational organizations — European Union — Member States — Obligations of Member States of the European Union — Accession to European Union — Arbitration agreement referred to in accession agreement — Where validity of arbitration award contested — Arbitration award not implemented — European Union not party to arbitration agreement between Member States — Relationship between arbitration agreement and arbitration award and European Union law — Scope ratione materiae of EU law in relation to international legal instruments — Competence of European Union in border disputeTerritory — Sea — Slovenia — Croatia — Delimitation of land and sea borders — Power to determine territory retained by European Union Member States — Delimitation of borders contested — 142Arbitration award delimiting borders contested — Action would require determination of borders between two European Union Member States — The law of the European Union

678Arbitration — Arbitration award — International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) — ICSID Convention, 1965 — Article 54 — Enforcement proceedings — Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Act 1966 giving ICSID Convention domestic effect in United StatesJurisdiction — Subject matter jurisdiction over enforcement of an ICSID Award — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Act of State doctrine — Foreign sovereign compulsion doctrine — Whether act of State doctrine or foreign sovereign compulsion doctrine barring enforcement of an ICSID AwardState immunity — Jurisdiction — Petition to enforce arbitration award — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Exceptions to sovereign immunity — Arbitration exception — Romania’s agreement to arbitrate — Whether Romania’s agreement to arbitrate nullified by Romania’s accession to European Union — Whether United States court having jurisdiction to enforce arbitration awardTreaties — ICSID Convention, 1965 — Sweden–Romania Bilateral Investment Treaty, 2002 — Romania’s agreement to arbitrate — Romania acceding to European Union in 2007 — Whether Romania’s agreement to arbitrate nullified by Romania’s accession to European Union — Whether United States court having jurisdiction to enforce arbitration awardRelationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — ICSID Convention, 1965 — Obligations of the State under ICSID Convention — United States law — Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Act 1966 — Section 3 — Jurisdiction of federal courts to enforce an ICSID award whilst award subject of review by a foreign sovereign — The law of the United States