Arbitration Court News

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries  said on Wednesday that two orders from Russia's Zvezda worth a total of 4.85 trillion won ($3.54 billion) for icebreaker ships were cancelled due to "illegal termination by the shipowner".Samsung Heavy said in regulatory filings that in June 2024, Zvezda shipyard unilaterally informed the South Korean company of the contract termination and insisted on the return of advance payments.In July, Samsung filed an arbitration request with the Singapore arbitration court to affirm the illegality of the termination, while engaging in negotiations with

The Supreme Court in the Philippines on Tuesday declared the country's 2005 energy exploration agreement with Chinese and Vietnamese firms was illegal, ruling that the constitution does not allow foreign entities to exploit natural resources. The decision, on an agreement that expired in 2008, could complicate efforts by China to revive oil and gas exploration talks with the Philippines in areas of the South China Sea that are not in dispute. The court gave no explanation for why the ruling came 14 years after a petition was filed.

A London arbitration court has ordered Djibouti to restore DP World's right to operate the Doraleh Container Terminal as detailed under a 2006 concession deal within two months or pay damages, the state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.The government of Djibouti seized the terminal from Dubai government-controlled DP World in February 2018 over a dispute dating back to at least 2012.An independent expert has estimated the losses to DP World at more than $1 billion, WAM reported. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Jan Harvey)

A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors. China said its warships had warned the U.S. ship and it lodged "stern representations" with the United States. China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations. The U.S.

Far out in the South China Sea, where dark blue meets bright turquoise, a miles-long row of fishing boats anchor near Scarborough Shoal, backed by a small armada of coastguard projecting China's power in Asia's most disputed waters. China still calls the shots at the prime fishing spot and has boosted its fleet there, nine months after an international panel ruled its blockade of the lagoon was illegal. Beijing rejected that ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China's claim of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. But the presence of Philippine boats dotted between Chinese vessels shows a degree of compliance with the ruling.

The United States is ready to confront China should it continue its overreaching maritime claims in the South China Sea, the head of the U.S. Pacific fleet said on Wednesday, comments that threaten to escalate tensions between the two global rivals. China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The United States has called on China to respect the findings of the arbitration court in The Hague earlier this year which invalidated its vast territorial claims in the strategic waterway. But Beijing continues to act in an "aggressive" manner, to which the United States stands ready to respond, Admiral Harry Harris, head of the U.S.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has announced it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Dispute Resolution Data (DRD) – a research service for international commercial arbitration and mediation. Under the terms of the agreement, the ICC International Court of Arbitration will provide data that will ultimately contribute to a greater understanding of dispute resolution use and practice worldwide. Andrea Carlevaris, Secretary General of the ICC Court said: " Facilitating the access to data and information about arbitration proceedings is among the current priorities of the ICC Court. I am therefore delighted that the Court is joining DRD.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will issue an executive order declaring part of the disputed Scarborough Shoal a marine sanctuary off-limits to all fishermen, a move his office said was supported by Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Duterte will make a unilateral declaration barring fishermen from exploiting marine life at a tranquil lagoon that was central to years of bitter squabbling, and the basis of an arbitration case brought and won by the Philippines. The dispute over the Scarborough Shoal is one of several involving South East Asian countries seeking to counter China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Since 2012…

The Philippines' territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea has not caused Manila to rebalance diplomatic ties with either its ally, the United States, or neighbouring China, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday. An arbitration court in the Hague infuriated China in July by ruling that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions there. "We want to make close friendship with China. It does not mean that we'll weaken our friendship with the United States," Yasay told Reuters during a break in a meeting of the senate foreign relations committee. On Tuesday evening, President Rodrigo Duterte said he expects talks with China over the maritime dispute within a year.

Talks to explore pathways to peace and cooperation. The Philippines wants formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation, the Southeast Asian nation's special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday, after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying. Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea. An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.

China's Supreme Court said on Tuesday people caught illegally fishing in Chinese waters could be jailed for up to a year, issuing a judicial interpretation defining those waters as including China's exclusive economic zones. An arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China had no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions in the sea, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case. None of China's reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone, the court decided. China's Supreme Court made no direct mention of the South China Sea or The Hague ruling, but said its judicial interpretation was made in accordance with both Chinese law and the U.N.

China and Russia will hold "routine" naval drills in the South China Sea in September, China's defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a news conference on Thursday. The drills come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in the Hague ruled this month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there. China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case. Reporting by Ben Blanchard

Ecuador has paid $112 million to energy company Chevron Corp over a four-decade-old contract dispute, even though it remains in disagreement, the head of the central bank has said. A Hague arbitration court awarded the U.S. company $96 million in 2011 in a dispute stemming from a 1973 deal that called for Texaco, later acquired by Chevron, to develop fields in exchange for selling oil to Ecuador at below-market rates. Various appeals by Ecuador against the ruling failed. "We have today paid around $112 million," the central bank head Diego Martinez told a local radio station late on Friday. That amount represented the award plus interest. "We don't agree with how these international mechanisms work ...

Freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end "in disaster", a senior Chinese admiral has said, a warning to the United States after last week's ruling against Beijing's claims in the area. China has refused to recognise the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines. It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to. China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with his Vietnamese counterpart that an arbitration court's decision this week on the South China Sea must be observed, Japan's Kyodo news agency said on Friday.   The court in The Hague ruled China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with its actions, infuriating Beijing, which dismissed the case as a farce.   Abe and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc were in Mongolia for a summit of Asian and European leaders, known as ASEM.   (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka)

The United States urged all parties to avoid provocative statements or actions after an arbitration court ruled on Tuesday that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea. "The decision today by the Tribunal in the Philippines-China arbitration is an important contribution to the shared goal of a peaceful resolution to disputes in the South China Sea," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. The United States is still studying the decision and has no comment on the merits of the case but supports efforts to resolve South China territorial and maritime disputes peacefully, he said. The Permanent…

Global oil and shipping markets reacted nervously on Tuesday after an international arbitration court ruled against Beijing's claims across large swathes of the South China Sea, fuelling geopolitical tensions in the vital waterway. A tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, found China had breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines and had no legal basis to its historic claims in the South China Sea, a major shipping lane between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The ruling will be seen as a victory by other regional claimants such the Philippines and Vietnam…

China's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday no matter how an arbitration court rules on a case about the South China Sea it will not affect China's sovereignty.   "No matter what kind of ruling is to be made, Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," it said, in a bilingual Chinese and English statement. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

An international court said on Wednesday it would deliver a hotly anticipated ruling in the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea on July 12, drawing an immediate rebuke from Beijing, which rejects the tribunal's jurisdiction. The United States, which is a close ally of the Philippines and is concerned about China's expansive South China Sea claims, reiterated its backing for The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration and urged a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Manila is contesting China's historical claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Several Southeast Asian states have overlapping claims in the sea and the dispute has sparked concerns of a military confrontation that could disrupt global trade.

Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling set for July 12. An international court said it would deliver a hotly anticipated ruling in the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea on July 12, drawing an immediate rebuke from Beijing, which rejects the tribunal's jurisdiction. The United States, which is a close ally of the Philippines and is concerned about China's expansive South China Sea claims, reiterated its backing for The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration and urged a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Manila is contesting China's historical claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Vietnam has called for an international tribunal in The Hague to deliver a "fair and objective" ruling in an arbitration case lodged by the Philippines that challenges China's expansive claims in the South China Sea. In a carefully worded statement two days after the court announced July 12 as the verdict date, Vietnam's foreign ministry said it hoped the ruling would provide a basis for peacefully resolving rows. Vietnam is not a direct party to the case but stands to gain if the verdict favours Manila. Like the Philippines, it is also at odds with China, although it is wary not to push too far against a major trade partner. "Vietnam has always been observing the development of the case and wants the arbitration court to deliver a fair and objective decision…

Taiwan said Tuesday it does not accept a tribunal's ruling on the South China Sea, saying the decision on Itu Aba, Taipei's sole holding in the disputed Spratly Islands, had "seriously impaired" its territorial rights. The arbitration court in The Hague ruled that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines with its actions there, infuriating a defiant Beijing. Taiwan, formally known as the "Republic of China", is also a claimant in the South China Sea. The maps China bases its South China Sea claims on date to when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists ruled China before they fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's Communists.

Vietnam welcomed a ruling by an international arbitration court concerning the South China Sea on Tuesday, saying it strongly supports peaceful resolution of disputes, while reasserting its own sovereignty claims. "Vietnam welcomes the arbitration court issuing its final ruling," foreign ministry spokesman, Le Hai Binh, said in a statement. The ministry said it would issue a more detailed comment on the content of the ruling at a later time and reasserted Vietnam's claim of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly island, and its jurisdiction over its Exclusive Economic Zone.