• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.3-21
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• 2023

Chinese law does not directly stipulate the criteria for determining the nationality of arbitral awards, and the Civil Procedure Law stipulates that arbitral awards are divided into domestic arbitral awards and foreign arbitral awards based on the location of the arbitration institution managing the arbitration cases. This indirectly classifies the nationality of the arbitral award based on the location of the arbitral institution. However, with regard to the nationality of eight arbitral awards in this paper made in China by the foreign arbitration institutions, the Chinese courts determined the nationality by arbitrarily selecting the criteria for the location of the arbitration institution and the criteria for the place of arbitration, except for arbitral awards made in Hong Kong. China's unclear attitude toward the criteria for determining the nationality of arbitral award has resulted not only obscures the country that can exercise the right to revoke arbitral award, but also obscures the laws and regulations applied to the approval and execution of arbitral awards. In other words, since the right to revoke the arbitral awards resides with the country of nationality of the awards, such an ambiguous attitude in China prevents the parties from responding to the cancellation lawsuit by predicting the nationality of the arbitral awards in advance. Furthermore, since China made a declaration of reciprocity reservations while joining the New York Convention, in cases where the criteria for location of the arbitral institution is applied, if the arbitration institution belongs to a contracting state, the it must apply the New York Convention to approve and execute arbitration decisions, but if it is not a contracting state, it must be approved and executed by mutual arbitration agreements or reciprocity principles. These results can lead to different results in approval and execution of the same arbitral awards depending on how the nationality is determined.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.137-163
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• 2018

Efficiency in the arbitration proceedings and finality of arbitral awards have been key attractive features of arbitration. While finality of awards is due to the fact that there is no appeals mechanism in arbitration, other recourses that are available against arbitral awards threaten the integrity of finality of arbitral awards. This article examines some of these recourses, such as, setting aside of arbitral awards pursuant to the UNCITRAL Model Law, scrutiny of draft awards by arbitration institutions, and annulment proceedings of ICSID Convention awards and discusses the implications of these measures in relation to assuring finality of arbitral awards in international commercial and investment arbitration cases. In order to more effectively respect the disputing parties' autonomy in choosing arbitration, and also to give as much deference to arbitral tribunals' decisions and their discretion in reaching their decisions, it is proposed that an official appellate mechanism would be preferred over the undermining of finality of arbitral awards that have been taking place through the currently available exclusive recourses against arbitral awards.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.103-124
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• 2012

Because the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Korea-U.S. FTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have an overlapping contracting party, the United States, their provisions have much in common. The investment chapters of these agreements, especially, show many similarities, and thanks to these similarities, it is likely that the Korea-U.S. FTA arbitration tribunal for investor-state disputes regarding the environment will put great weight on the NAFTA tribunals' interpretations of those similar provisions. Since the NAFTA tribunals have already handled many environment-related arbitration cases, their interpretations will help heighten the predictability of environment-related Korea-U.S. FTA arbitration cases. This paper analyzes the environment-related NAFTA cases in which the tribunal has issued an award, which are the Metalclad case, S.D. Myers case, Waste Management case, Methanex case, Glamis Gold case, and Chemtura case. According to this analysis, the most controversial NAFTA provisions have been Article 1102 (national treatment), Article 1105 (minimum treatment standard, fair and equitable treatment), and Article 1110 (expropriation). The NAFTA tribunals applied the requirement of these articles in a strict manner, reducing the possibility of finding a violation. After the aforementioned analysis, this paper proceeds to compare the national treatment, minimum treatment standard (fair and equitable treatment), and expropriation provisions of the Korea-U.S. FTA and NAFTA and to predict the impact that the environment-related awards under NAFTA can have on environment-related Korea-U.S. FTA cases. It is expected that the NAFTA interpretations of the national treatment and minimum treatment provisions are likely be used as they are, but not the interpretations of expropriation, because of the differences in the expropriation provisions of the two agreements.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.303-336
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• 2003

Incorporation of an arbitration clause by reference to other documents occurs in many international business transactions. The reference is either to another document that contains arbitration clause or to trading rules which contain the arbitration clause, without the main contract mentioning that arbitration has been agreed upon. In fact, incorporation by reference in to a contract of an arbitration clause set forth in another agreement is deemed valid in any number of circumstances, even when the parties to the two contractual instruments are not the same. Difficulties arise when, instead of an express arbitration provision, a contract contains a clause which refers to the trading rules of a certain trade association, so-called external arbitration clause. The U.S. courts which will presume that the parties intended to arbitrate under a particular set of rules when they expressly mentioned arbitration in their agreement, have sometimes refused to enforce contract clauses that do no more than refer to particular trading rules, even if these rules contain provisions binding the parties to arbitrate their disputes. The courts in such cases tend to be careful in determinig whether intent to arbitrate is present. In maritime contracts, the arbitration clause in a charter party is often referred to in the bill of lading. Such reference usually is held binding upon the parties to the contract of carriage, their knowledge of such practice being presumed. A nonsignatory may compell arbitration against a party to an arbitration agreement when that party has entered into a separate contractual relationship with the nonsignatory which incorporates the existing arbitration clause. If a party's arbitration clause is expressly incorporated into a bill of lading, nonsignatories … who are linked to that bill … may be bound to the arbitration agreement of others. An arbitration clause in a charterparty will be incorporated into a bill of lading if either - (a) there are specific words of incorporation in the bill, and the arbitration clause is so worded as to make sense in the context of the bill, and the clause dose not conflict with the express terms of the bill; or (b) there are general words of incorporation in the bill, and the arbitration clause or some other provision in the charter makes it clear that the clause is to govern disputes under the bill as well as under the charter. In all other cases, the arbitration clause is not incorporated into the bill.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.161-182
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• 1999

The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the UNIDROIT Principle in international commercial arbitration. For this purpose, I have studies the basic two characters of this Principles: One is of general rule(principle); Another is of international and commercial character. According to CISG, questions concerning matters governed by the CISG which are not expressly settled in it are to be settled in conformity with the general principles, so this Principles will cover many questions which are not expressly settled in the applicable law, by gap-filing, analogy or usage. In the preamble of this Principles, there are five cases in which the Principles shall be applied or may be applied. If the disputes are submitted to the any national court, the application of this Principles would be restricted because of the mandatory rules of national, international or supranational origin. But the disputes are submitted to arbitration, the arbitrator would have more discretional powers to apply the Principles than the judge. The reason is that in the arbitration, the arbitrators do not bear obligation to act in conformity with the law applicable by virtue of the rules of rules of private international law. I also examined the applicability of the Principles in cases which there are no mentions in preamble: When the international arbitrators choose the Principles; When the arbitrators decide ex aequo et bono; When the both parties have not chosen the governing law; When there are gaps in domestic law chosen by the parties; When the applicable domestic law is insufficient. In all these cases, the Principles may be applied more easily and conveniently in arbitration than in litigation. Thus to envisage the application of this Principle in international arbitration, first both parties in international commercial contracts should incorporate this Principle as a governing law in their contracts, and second, the arbitrators should try to apply this Principles in their arbitrations by choice, analogy, general principles or usage.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.51-69
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• 2008

The financial industry in which arbitration is most frequently resorted to so as to resolve disputes is the sector related to the securities industry. Most securities related disputes are raised from broker-dealer controversies which is not new in the Republic of Korea. The disputes between securities brokers and customers are very frequently settled by arbitration in the United States. But the arbitration in the securities area may deprive investors from securities regulation's protection. Introducing the United States' Federal Supreme Courts cases, the author explores the logic of how the pre-dispute arbitration agreement compatible with Securities regulations. However, the author insist the South Korea should more careful in accepting pre-dispute arbitration contract in securities area. Mostly because of the lack of more specific way to secure substantive fairness in securities arbitration. Also the author worries about the possibility of prevailing pre-dispute arbitration agreement in all of the securities investment contract without any other choices, or securities laws' protection. But the author also suggests to introduce public securities arbitration system of the States, and also insists the way to secure substantive fairness, or the application of securities regulations in securities arbitrations. Which may be the pre-requirements for the pre-dispute arbitration agreement in securities investment contract.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.91-110
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• 2018

Consumers repeatedly make small sum purchases through business-to-consumer contracts, usually without incident. Consumer areas have been increasing; therefore, consumer disputes have been occurring frequently as well. In international consumer transactions, it is not easy to solve consumer disputes by applying the laws of different countries. Resolving disputes by using the consumer arbitration system can be a measure to protect consumers. In the U.S., a class arbitration is being operated as a mixed dispute resolution system of class action and arbitration. Consumer Arbitration has long been a controversial issue in the U.S. It is therefore a lesson for us to examine related cases. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, DIRECTV v. Imburgia, was looked into and after a summary of the facts, issues, and opinions and opposing opinions that had a tight controversy, a close analysis was done. The analysis through this judgment is as follows: first, the contraction of consumer protection; second, the expansion of the Federal Arbitration Act scope; third, the class arbitration's restriction; and fourth, the submission of the arbitration fairness act.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.69-87
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• 2023

This study recognizes that consumers are becoming important as a subject of commerce as they change from the existing e-commerce market to the consumer-led e-commerce market, and proposes the use of consumer intervention as a remedy for consumer damage in international e-commerce disputes. In Korea, there is no separate regulation on consumer arbitration, so we will analyze the U.S. arbitration judgment, which is the most active in consumer arbitration, and examine it through the U.S. arbitration judgment so that arbitration can become active as a remedy for consumer disputes in Korea. In summary, in the event of a dispute between consumers and companies through e-commerce, consumers' preference for arbitration was confirmed through repeated collection of opinions without coercion. It is necessary to revitalize arbitration in Korea to protect consumers through arbitration rather than litigation and to resolve disputes through active alternative dispute resolution as a solution to disputes in e-commerce, which is rapidly increasing through U.S. consumer arbitration cases. The topic of the activation of arbitration has been mentioned a lot before, but the preference for arbitration is still lower than that of litigation. However, from now on, as the appearance of existing commerce has changed to consumer-led e-commerce, it has proposed a plan to use arbitration to rescue consumers from damage as consumers as buyers grow in the market.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.131-155
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• 2011

PICC executes its role as a useful lex mercatoria in the continuously increasing international trade to be adopted as the standard criterion of prevention or dispute resolution. When considering the fact that GISG has not presented results beyond expectation in the past due to hard laws and legal deficiency, PICC, which possesses interpretation and supplementation function, is considered undoubtedly useful particularly in international commercial arbitration. As observed in the previously mentioned analysis on cases accumulated in UNILEX, PICC application and Arbitral tribunal in international contract between parties possess considerably large claim possibility and the number of actual application cases is continuously increasing. The fact that PICC has been composed as maximum common measures of continental and common law systems by traditional comparative legal scholars familiar with international trade can function as the fundamental principle in future global trade activity and can also act as the model law for uniting contract laws of nations. In this aspect, PICC can be evaluated to have considerably achieved enactment purpose of previous intention. However, additional topics that had not been accepted in the revised edition of PICC remain as assignments requiring solution, such as analysis and acceptance problem of comparative law, PR of PICC unfamiliar even to the relative parties of international trade and application in international contract, and absorption problem as model law in various domestic laws.

• 한국중재학회지:중재연구
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.111-132
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• 2014

Recently, there have been discussions about the necessity of consumer arbitration such as ADR. The debate has progressed, because this area of arbitration has expanded into the press and medical fields. However, there is not an act for regulating consumer arbitration in South Korea. Thus, this issue has been deliberated at UNCITRAL Working Group III. The core issue of this deliberation is the validity of consumer arbitration. Especially if a pre-dispute arbitration agreement is contracted online, it progresses by using standardized terms; therefore it is possible that the Standardized Terms Regulating Act judges the relevant terms. This thesis consists of the following: First, concepts and categories of arbitration agreements. These include arbitration agreement, pre-dispute arbitration agreement, and arbitration agreement through standardized terms. Second, the validity of the above agreements will be discussed. There are three positions concerning their validity: affirmative as de lege ferenda, negative, and restrictively negative. Similar discussions concerning German law and cases would be helpful to specify and compare the issue. When a consumer arbitration agreement is contracted through standardized terms, it is necessary that the required formality of the agreement has been satisfied, before the effect of the agreement may be regulated by the German Civil Code.