The purpose of my thesis, which is named "Arbitration clauses in consumer disputes", is to confirm or rebut the hypothesis that valid pre-dispute arbitration agreement can be concluded with a consumer, and if the hypothesis is confirmed, what requirements have to be met. The text is composed of five chapters, the introduction, and the conclusion, and each of the chapters deals with different aspects of arbitration clauses in consumers' disputes. Chapter One is introductory and defines the terminology used in the thesis, such as the consumer dispute, the arbitration clause, and the protection of the consumer as the weaker party. Chapter Two concerns the admissibility of an arbitration clause for the settlement of consumer disputes. This chapter is subdivided into three parts. The first part describes the European and the American points of view of pre-dispute arbitration agreements. The second part examines the arbitration clause as an unfair term according to the Council Directive 93/13/EEC of April 5th , 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts and with regard to the related case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and its implementation into the Czech legal system. This part describes the personal applicability, non-individual negotiation, non-fulfillment of the requirement of...

Magister Legum - LLM / The resolution of disputes, including unfair dismissal disputes under the Labour Act 2007 is being criticised for being too complex, inefficient, protracted, expensive, and highly legalistic. This thesis would denote that the provision of proactive and expeditious dispute resolution systems helps to resolve labour disputes in the most effective and efficient manner, without necessarily having to resort to the courts. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the legal framework regulating the labour dispute system in Namibia assures the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) of its credibility, thereby creating confidence and enabling stakeholders to trust the system. Ideally, disputes should be resolved at the conciliation level, resulting in the minority of disputes being referred to arbitration or the Labour Court. The Office of the Labour Commissioner must be independent of the state, since the state is the largest employer, to ensure the stakeholders trust the system. However, it has been established that there are gaps between the legal framework relating to labour dispute resolution and the application of laws and regulations in practice, making the attainment of effective and efficient labour dispute resolution difficult. Therefore, the thesis will analyse the ADR in Namibia to finding out if the system is sufficient and appropriate for society’s need and to provide a recommendation for the system that is a quicker, equitable, and amicable way of resolving the disputes outside the courts through conciliation and arbitration.

Iura novit curia in international arbitration Abstract The thesis deals with the application of the iura novit curia principle in international arbitration. At the outset, it explains the function of the principle in the civil law tradition of court procedure and the potential issues arising out of its application in arbitration, in particular with regards to the limits of arbitral power and due process. Since the rules on conduct of arbitral proceedings provide no specific guidance in this respect, the ultimate limits of the use of the principle in arbitration are set by the national courts in proceedings on annulment and recognition of arbitral awards. The thesis attempts to delineate these limits on the case law of a few chosen countries and observe the potential similarities with their civil procedure. Despite the differences in the legal traditions in the respective countries, the analysis of the case law finds a number of common features in the approaches to the application of the iura novit curia principle in international arbitration across the chosen countries. When assessing the powers of the arbitrator to apply the law as he deems appropriate, the courts seem to share similar concerns about the observation of the parties right to be heard. Despite its somewhatʼ firmer standing in investment...

Case law influence on Czech national and international arbitration Proceedings Abstract Arbitration proceedings represent, besides civil judicial procedures, one of the methods for solution of material disputes in private-law relations. Arbitration proceedings have been used for quite a long time. In our territory they were used already under the rule of Charles IV. For example, Jakub Krčín and Štěpánek Netolický, who were well-known artificial lake engineers, belonged among highly appreciated arbitrators. Significant development of arbitration proceedings was registered after 1949, when the Steady Arbitration Court was established at the Czechoslovak Chamber of Commerce in May 1949 and exists up to now under the name "Arbitration Court attached to the Czech Chamber of Commerce and the Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic". Legal regulation of arbitration proceedings was undergoing various changes. A principal change occurred in 1964, when the Act no. 98/1963 Coll., on arbitration proceedings in international trade and on enforcement of arbitration awards entered into force, admitting arbitration proceedings only in international trade relations and only for legal entities, at that time foreign trade enterprises. Another principal change then occurred as at 1 January 2015, the effective date of the...

In recent years, international literature and debate has acknowledged the fact that increasingly third party funders, partially or fully, finance a party’s arbitration costs. This essay examines whether a party whom is financed by a third party funder could be seen as having incurred costs and if so, to what extent these costs should be reimbursed by the losing party. This essay also examines if a third party funder in Sweden may be responsible for arbitration costs and if so, on what possible grounds. The essay analyzes the new dilemma of so-called ”hit and run”- arbitration and the relevant principles and interests of its discussion as a way to find a satisfying solution to the complex situation. By examining these matters, the essay uses a traditional dogmatic legal method in order to clarify applicable law and practice. The prevailing consensus amongst practitioners as well as academics, is that how a party chooses to finance its’ arbitral costs should not affect the tribunal’s allocation of costs. The mere existence of a third party funder does not automatically give rise to an exception from chapter 18 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure. Instead, costs should be allocated based on the parties’ conduct of the arbitral proceedings. Article 8 in chapter 18 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Proceedings provides minimal guidance as to whether a party should be considered to have had costs when a third party funder has paid the costs. Instead, from international case law and doctrine its possible to draw the conclusion that a funder whom has a right to be reimbursed for its investment by the financed party is sufficient for the party to be considered to have had costs. However, the reimbursement for the investment to the funder is not a reimbursable cost for the financed party. In the situation that a funded impecunious party loses the arbitral proceedings, the financed party may have no economic possibility to reimburse the counter party. Neither are there explicit provisions that allows for an arbitral tribunal to issue a costs order against a third party funder since the funder is not a party to the arbitration. However, based on case law (NJA 2014 p 877), a third party funder could be responsible for a non funded counter party’s arbitral costs in a subsequent court proceeding (a claim for compensation from the funder). One of the circumstances needed in order for that subsequent responsibility to kick in is that the main purpose of financing the party must have been to avoid the Swedish Code of Judicial Proceedings’ provisions on allocation of costs. The English equivalent is often referred to as alter ego or veil piercing.

The thesis is dealing with prorogation and arbitration clauses in international trade, focusing on Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I bis) and on the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. In particular, the thesis aims to describe the procedure of valid negotiation and the formation of clauses, including the analysis of possible interpretation issues. The common objective of the prorogation clauses as a choice of court agreements and arbitration clauses, is to determine who and where should have the jurisdiction to resolve any dispute arising between the parties and to reinforce their legal certainty. The outcome of the work is therefore to verify the hypothesis that the conclusion of such clauses really strengthens the legal certainty of the parties. Regarding the prorogation clauses, the theoretical level is supplemented by a practical insight into the whole issue in the form of an analysis of the Court of Justice of the European Union case law. Regarding arbitration clauses, the aim is to provide a certain international overview, to outline generally applicable principles and to point...