Annulment

Not many legal institutions have contributed to peaceful resolution of disputes to such extent as international arbitration. Awards rendered by recognized and established individuals are highly regarded and respected. They are also legally binding and, in most instances, final. Their annulment has always been perceived as an exception to the general rule of binding force and enforceability. A kind of escape route in a situation when the award violates generally recognized standards of fairness. The chapter focuses on various aspects of the available annulment procedures under different procedural regimes. The particular challenge concerns interplay between public international law rules regarding peaceful resolution of disputes and municipal systems of state courts’ control over arbitration processes. That challenge found its most recent expression in the conflict between the international arbitration world and EU law as applied by CJEU and local courts with respect to intra-EU investor-state disputes. The chapter focuses on the impact of the CJEU’s pronouncements have on stability of the international legal order and mutual respect and harmonization between different special regimes.