Does the EU need an arbitration Regulation?

John Gaffney has written a well considered paper on the need for an EU Arbitration Regulation, within certain specific confines.  It highlights inter alia the possibilities under among others the New York Convention for there to be additional rules in its Signatory States with respect to the relationship between their internal rules and regulations and the Convention.

The European Union display what I have always considered a very rare and awkward restraint in regulating arbitration, specifically its private international law aspects. This is the case for the relationship with the Jurisdiction Regulation. It is arguably even more so for the exclusion of arbitration from the Rome I Regulation, given the lack of provisions in the New York Convention especially on applicable law.

John’s suggestions for legislative action at the EU level zoom in on two areas especially: the existence of parallel arbitration and judicial proceedings (lis pendens issues; see also here); and the circulation of arbitral awards and arbitration-related judgments, including the issue of the conclusive and preclusive effects of prior arbitral awards in relation to conflicting judgments (res judicata issues: including whether the priority which the Brussels I-Regulation concedes to the New York Convention, means that a court in a Member State can or indeed must give priority to a conflicting arbitral award over a judgment of the court of another EU Member State).

A great kick-off to a continuing debate. Geert.