In Global Arbitration Review Article, Akin Gump Lawyers Examine Environment for Arbitral Awards in Russia

Global Arbitration Review has published the article “Mixed messages: developments in recognition of foreign arbitral awards in Russia,” written by partner Justin Williams, senior counsel Alexander Trukhtanov and counsel Jenny Arlington, all members of the international arbitration and dispute resolution practice at Akin Gump. (They were assisted by paralegal Georgy Shashero.) The article examines the current environment in Russia for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and offers some practical suggestions for users.

The article begins with a look at a recent Russian Supreme Court decision, which the authors describe as being “markedly hostile to international arbitration.” They provide some background on the case, Dredging and Maritime Management v InzhTransStroy, in which the court “found that an arbitration agreement that appears to have been based in whole or in part on the [International Chamber of Commerce’s] own model clause was defective, and that the resultant award should not be recognized or enforced.”

Williams, Trukhtanov and Arlington write that the decision is likely to be “influential and will have persuasive effect in lower courts.” As a result, they observe, “there is now a somewhat greater risk that applications for recognition in Russia may fail if they are based on arbitration agreements similar to that considered by the Supreme Court.”

The authors advise that arbitration users “should draft arbitration clauses that relate to Russia as carefully and precisely as possible, and not assume that model clauses issued by arbitral institutions will always be water-tight.” They also suggest that, “users documenting transactions relating to Russia should consider whether to adopt the rules of institutions based in [Commonwealth of Independent States] or other former Soviet countries.”

To read the full article, please click here.