An issue that has been increasingly raised in international arbitration is whether third parties can be included in arbitration without their explicit consent. 

The Ukrainian court system saw significant changes in 2016. The first, and probably the most important, was the initiation of judicial reform, which included changes to the Constitution of Ukraine and a truly significant amount of new laws (some of which have already passed through the Parliament, with others still under development). In addition, in 2016, Ukrainian legal community witnessed some unexpected decisions of the Supreme Court of Ukraine affecting the jurisdiction of Ukrainian courts, which contributed to uncertainty in the Ukrainian judiciary.

As part of comprehensive arbitration law reform in Russia, the new Russian Arbitration Law (Domestic) has come into force and become better aligned with the UNCITRAL Model Law. Several aspects of the new Arbitration Law need to be kept in mind when executing new arbitration agreements and enforcing existing ones. 

Past and recent records of litigation proceedings before first instance courts in Greece reflect an unfortunate reality: severe delays in case trials, most of the times coming as a result of lengthy hearings and an ever-expanding caseload, as well as many consensual or disputed trial adjournments or ex officio adjournments due to fortuitous circumstances (strikes, elections, etc.).