TFL Vsebine / Pravni letopis

Financiranje stroškov arbitraže s strani tretjih oseb (TPF) lahko pomembno vpliva na odločanje arbitrov o stroških arbitražnega postopka in varščini za stroške arbitražnega postopka.Ta prispevek obravnava nekonvencionalne položaje, do katerih pride zaradi prisotnosti TPF,in arbitrom ponuja smernice za njihovo razrešitev. Ne glede na to, ali stroške arbitražnega postopka stranka financira sama ali s pomočjo TPF, se mora arbitražni senat, ko odloča o razporeditvi stroškov med stranki, vedno prepričati, da so stroški nastali v zvezi z arbitražo, da jih je stranka dejansko utrpela (plačala) in da so razumni. Vprašanje, ali lahko financirana stranka, ki uspe v postopku, od nasprotne stranke zahteva povrnitev stroškov in v kakšnem obsegu, je zato rešljivo le ob dosledni uporabi načela uspeha strank v postopku in standarda razumnosti ter ob upoštevanju vsebine pogodbe o TPF. V izjemnih okoliščinah, kadar bi bil ogrožen cilj načela uspeha strank v postopku (pravična stroškovna izravnava med strankama), si bo lahko toženec z začasnim ukrepom zavaroval izpolnitev terjatve na plačilo stroškov za primer uspeha v postopku. Prisotnost TPF bo v teh primerih zahtevala drugačen pristop arbitražnega senata, ki bo moral toženčevo zahtevo za odreditev varščine za stroške arbitražnega postopka presojati v širšem kontekstu vsebine pogodbe o TPF in ne le v okvirih standarda običajnega poslovnega tveganja, ki ga tožnik sprejme ob sklenitvi arbitražnega sporazuma.

Third-party funding (TPF) may have a significant impact on decisions on costs and security for costs in international arbitration. This article discusses the intricate issues in the decisionmaking process that may arise because of TPF, and provides guidance for addressing these issues by arbitral tribunals. When allocating costs between parties, the arbitral tribunal will need to determine that the costs were incurred and paid or payable by the (funded) party seeking to recover them, and were reasonable. In deciding whether a funded party may recover its costs and which costs are recoverable (e.g. costs of funding including third-party funder’s success fee), the arbitral tribunal should take into account the terms of the funding agreement and consistently apply the costs following the event principle and the test of reasonableness. In exceptional circumstances, if a funded claimant might not be able to pay the adverse cost award, the respondent might apply for security for costs in order to secure the execution of any future cost award in the event of a successful outcome. In deciding the application for security for costs in the presence of third-party funding, the tribunal may have to venture beyond the usual consent-based approach and ‘material change of circumstances’ test. Thus, the terms of any funding arrangement may be relevant if relied upon to establish that the claimant (funded party) can meet any adverse costs award.

Decisions on Costs and Security for Costs in Third-Party Funded Arbitration