国际仲裁界欢迎阿根廷和乌拉圭新的国际商事仲裁法

2018年7月3日，乌拉圭通过了上议院（参议院）于今年5月签署的《国际商事仲裁法》。一天后，也就是2018年7月4日，阿根廷通过了类似的仲裁法修改案。这些法案标志着期待已久的阿根廷和乌拉圭仲裁法改革的最后一步，并最终处于与相邻国家相同地位。

《阿根廷国际商事仲裁法》

直到2015年，阿根廷仲裁法已经非常陈旧过时。2005年的《民商事法典》修订包含了关于仲裁协议章节，旨在提供更现代的仲裁法。但是修订的仲裁法并未满足国际仲裁界的期望。

虽多次尝试但由于政治原因而未通过修订法案后，最终迎来了修订的仲裁法，仲裁从业者、学者、法官、政治家在起草新法案时发挥了积极的作用。

全新法案以2006年版的联合国国际贸易委员会《商事仲裁示范法》为基础，并作了一些修改。《示范法》反映了当前国际仲裁领域的发展趋势，体现了国际仲裁的国际共识。

阿根廷新的《国际商事仲裁法》适用于国际商事仲裁。就其目的而言，“国际”指：（i）达成协议时当事人位于不同的国家；或（ii）仲裁地，执行地或与争议最密切联系地是非当事人国家之外的另一国家。

本规定与《联合国国际贸易委员会示范法》第1条第（3）款第（c）项有所不同，第（c）项规定各方当事方可以约定仲裁协议的标的为国际性。另一个变化是，

仲裁地位于阿根廷时，适用该法案。然而，有一些规定适用于在外国进行的仲裁，包括：（i）如果存在仲裁协议，除非该协议无效、失效或无法履行，法院有义务命当事人将争议提交仲裁；（ii）保全措施；以及（iii）裁决的承认与执行。

最后，删除了《民商事程序法》第519条关于承认和执行裁决的规定，并直接引用《联合国国际贸易委员会示范法》与《纽约公约》的有关规定。

 《乌拉圭国际商事仲裁法》

在乌拉圭，该仲裁法是2004年被上议院驳回后通过的调整国际商事仲裁的一项立法。尽管乌拉圭法院根据《乌拉圭一般程序法》以及《纽约公约》规定采取支持仲裁的态度，但缺乏可预测的法律框架阻碍了当事人选择乌拉圭作为仲裁地。

《乌拉圭国际商事仲裁法》以1985年《联合国国际贸易委员会示范法》为基础，包含2006年版《示范法》中的某些内容，比如临时和保全措施的规定。

与阿根廷类似，《乌拉圭国际商事仲裁法》在确定仲裁的国际性方面与《联合国国际贸易委员会示范法》的规定有所区别。新法案不允许当事人决定仲裁（《示范法》允许）是否具有国际性。区别源于乌拉圭历来反对当事人有权就合同国际性进行约定。

此外，新法案规定，仲裁庭应当根据当事人选择适用法进行裁决。该法案还有五个部分规定了仲裁费用，而《示范法》没有规定这些内容。

评论

新仲裁法案为阿根廷和乌拉圭提供了符合国际仲裁使用者期望的标准框架，从而有助于加强拉丁美洲作为仲裁友好区域的地位。

业内人士对两项立法表示欢迎，新立法顺应了区域内使用仲裁更为普遍的形势需要，并体现了两国努力打造拉丁美洲仲裁地的目标。新仲裁法案是在该区域巩固仲裁的一个重要里程碑，有助于提高法律确定性，吸引外国投资。

【英文原文】

International Arbitration Community Welcomes Argentina and Uruguay’s NewInternational Commercial Arbitration Acts

By Florencia Villaggi

On July 3, 2018, Uruguay passed its International Commercial Arbitration Act after its upper house, the Chamber of Senators, signed off the draft in May.[1] A day later, it was Argentina’s turn.[2] These enactments mark the final step of a long awaited reform of the Argentinean and Uruguayan arbitration legislations, and finally place them on an equal footing with neighbouring states.

The Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act

Up until 2015 Argentina’s arbitration legislation was completely obsolete. The Civil and Commercial Code reform introduced in 2015 contained a chapter on the arbitration agreement and was intended to provide a more modern arbitration law. However, certain aspects of the reform did not satisfy the expectations of the international arbitration community.[3]

After several attempts to pass similar bills failed due to a lack of political will, the much-needed reform finally arrived, with arbitration practitioners, academics, judges and politicians playing an active role in the drafting of the new Act.

The brand-new bill is based on the 2006 version of the United Nations Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL) Model Law, with a few changes. The UNCITRAL Model Law reflects the current trends of the field and embodies international consensus with regards to the regulation of international arbitration.[4]

Argentina’s new International Commercial Arbitration Act governs international commercial arbitrations.[5] For its purposes, “International” means: (i) that the parties are established in different States when they enter into the arbitration agreement;or (ii) that the seat of arbitration, the place of execution, or the place withthe closest relation to the dispute, is another State than the one where the parties are established.[6]

This constitutes a deviation from Article 1(3)(c) of the UNCITRAL Model Law, which provides that parties may agree that the subject matter of the arbitration agreement is international.Another change is that under the new Act all valid arbitration agreements must be “in writing”.[7]

The Act is applicable if the seat of arbitration is in Argentina. However, a few provisions apply for foreign seated arbitrations, including:[8] (i) the obligation of the courts to refer the dispute to arbitration if there is an arbitral agreement, except if it is null, void or cannot be executed;[9] (ii) protective measures;[10] and (iii) recognition and execution of the awards.[11]

Finally, the law derogates from Article 519 bis of the Civil and Commercial Procedural Code regarding the recognition and enforcement of awards[12] and establishes a shared system between the UNCITRAL Model Law and theNew York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards.[13]

The Uruguayan International Commercial Arbitration Act

In Uruguay, this is the first piece of legislation governing international commercial arbitration to been acted following an unsuccessful attempt to pass a bill in 2004 that was rejected by the upper house.[14] While the courts have relied on the few provisions in the Uruguayan General Procedure Code and on the New York Convention to favour arbitration in their rulings, the absence of a predictable legal framework has discouraged parties from choosing Uruguay as a seat of arbitration.

The Uruguayan International Commercial Arbitration Act is based on the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law and contains certain elements from the 2006 version of the Model Law, such as the provisions on interim and provisional measures.

Similarly to Argentina, the Uruguayan International Commercial Arbitration Act departs from the UNCITRAL Model Law with regards to the determination of the internationality of the arbitration.[15] The new bill does not allow parties to determine whether the arbitration is “international”, as permitted by the Model Law. This deviation is rooted in Uruguay’s historical opposition to party autonomy in determining the international nature of a contract.[16]

Further, the new bill provides that the tribunal shall decide the case on the basis of the applicable law to the merits chosen by the parties.[17]The bill also includes five sections governing the costs of the arbitration, which are not included in the Model Law.

Comment

The new arbitration acts have equipped Argentina and Uruguay with standard frameworks aligned with the expectations of international arbitration users, thus contributing to reinforce Latin America’s position as an arbitration-friendly region.[18]

Practitioners have welcomed both pieces of legislation, which respond to the increased use of arbitration in the region and embody both governments’ aims to position both countries as seats of arbitration in Latin America. The new arbitration acts constitute a milestone in the consolidation of arbitration in the region, and contribute to establishing the legal certainty necessary to attract foreign investment.

 [1]The Chamber of Senators of theParliament of Uruguay (“Cámara de Senadores del Parlamento”) approved the billon May 16, 2018. The new law will be in force after receiving executiveapproval and being published in the official gazette.

[2]The new law was approved by theHouse of Deputies (“Cámara de Diputados”), Argentina’s lower house, on 4 July2018 and it was ratified by the executive power on 25 July 2018. It waspublished in the official gazette on 26 July 2018 as Law No. 27.449 onInternational Commercial Arbitration (“Ley No. 27.449 sobre Arbitraje ComercialInternacional”, “LACI”).

[3]See VILLAGGI, Florencia, “RecentDevelopments in the Arbitration Legislation in Argentina”, Journal ofInternational Arbitration, Vol. 35, No. 2, April 2018, p. 230-231; and VILLAGGI, Florencia “NuevaLey de Arbitraje Comercial Interncional”, Abogados.com, 13 July 2018.

[4]In Latin America, Venezuela,Paraguay, Chile and Peru have also incorporated the UNCITRAL Model Law.

[5]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Article 1.

[6]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Article 3.

[7]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Article 15. This condition is met when the arbitration agreement arises from an email, Article 16.

[8]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Article 2.

[9]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Title II.

[10]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Title II, Chapter 3 and Title V, Chapters 4 and 5.

[11]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Title IX, Chapter 1 and 2.

[12]Argentinean International Commercial Arbitration Act, Article 107.

[13]The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 10 June 1958 the (“New YorkConvention”).

[14]The bill proposed in 2004 was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but was rejected by the Chamber of Senators (“Cámara deSenadores del Parlamento”).

[15]The Uruguayan International Commercial Arbitration Act did not adopt sections 1.3.b(i) and 1.3(c) of the UNCITRAL Model Law to avoid parties agreeing to international arbitration in domestic cases, and thus eluding the prohibition in Section 2403 of the Uruguayan Civil Code for the inclusion of choice of law clauses.

[16]Section 2403 of the Uruguayan Civil Codeforbids parties to a contract to choose the applicable law, when and if by virtue of Uruguayan conflict of law rules Uruguayan law would be applicable.Case law and scholars have agreed that this rule does not apply when international arbitration is agreed as a means of dispute resolution.

[17]Uruguayan International Commercial Arbitration Act, Section 28.

[18]Argentina and Uruguay have both ratified:the Montevideo Treaty on Commercial International Law, 12 February 1889,amended in 1940; the Interamerican Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, 30 January 1975 (also known as the “panama Convention”), the 1979 Montevideo Convention, the New York Convention, and the International Commercial Arbitration Agreement of MERCOSUR, 23 July 1998.

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