Revision of Arbitral Awards Beyond the Model Law: Retrial in Arbitration

International Arbitration Law Library #77

In terms of recourse against arbitral awards, the application for setting aside pursuant to Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration immediately comes to mind: the sole recourse before a court of the seat, available within a short time limit, on a select few grounds. This is indeed the baseline. Yet, several jurisdictions allow recourse against arbitral awards within longer time limits and on additional grounds. Some arbitration laws even provide for further means of recourse. Such possibilities are available in exceptional circumstances only. These typically include the discovery of facts, evidence or instances of fraud that may have influenced the outcome of the arbitration.

The author sets out to ascertain whether and how the ‘retrial’ of arbitration proceedings can be possible in such cases.

What’s in this book:

The work contains: 

• an overview of res judicata and extraordinary means of recourse that allow the reopening of proceedings in the general context of litigation;
• a description of the effect of arbitral awards and recourse against them in the Model Law;
• a delineation of models for ‘retrial in arbitration’ (additional grounds for setting aside, autonomous means of recourse before a state court or the arbitral tribunal, claim for damages to recreate the correct financial situation);
• a summary of relevant trends in case law and legislation;
• a comparative analysis of solutions in selected jurisdictions (Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, England and Wales and more), covering admissibility (time limits, grounds) and procedure;
• a discussion of ‘retrial in arbitration’ in abstracto, in light of the basic principles of arbitration and the role party autonomy may play in shaping the means of recourse available against arbitral awards.

How this will help you:

The book aims to explore possibilities of challenging arbitral awards in jurisdictions that go beyond the text of Article 34 of the Model Law. Such ‘next level’ recourse against arbitral awards is examined on the basis of real cases as well as at the level of theory and policy, and thus may be of interest to practitioners, academics and policymakers alike.