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Full-Text Articles in Law

Fee Shifting In Investor-State Arbitration: Doctrine And Policy Justifying Application Of The English Rule, David P. Riesenberg Jan 2011

Fee Shifting In Investor-State Arbitration: Doctrine And Policy Justifying Application Of The English Rule, David P. Riesenberg

Duke Law Journal

In investor-state arbitration, tribunals can and should apply the English rule on legal costs and abandon the two alternatives, the American rule and the pro-claimant rule. Under the English rule, the unsuccessful party in a dispute must indemnify the prevailing party for the costs of dispute resolution. Both doctrine and public policy support the application of the English rule, particularly in light of the much-publicized backlash against the investor-state arbitration system. Most importantly, the English rule would help to mitigate the two most commonly identified causes of the backlash the system's alleged proinvestor bias and its chilling effect on host …


The Many Lives — And Faces — Of Lex Mercatoria: History As Genealogy In International Business Law, Nikitas E. Hatzimihail Jul 2008

The Many Lives — And Faces — Of Lex Mercatoria: History As Genealogy In International Business Law, Nikitas E. Hatzimihail

Law and Contemporary Problems

It has been claimed that cross-border business transactions are governed by a transnational body of norms specific to international trade, generally known as lex mercatoria, the law merchant. This legal phenomenon is in fact often described as the new lex mercatoria, as distinguished from the ancient law merchant, which purportedly flourished in medieval and early modern Europe. Here, Hatzimihail discusses about lex mercatoria, which has been variously described by its advocates as a set of general principles and customary rules spontaneously referred to or elaborated in the framework of international trade.


Commercial Peace And Political Competition In The Crosshairs Of International Arbitration, Thomas E. Carbonneau Apr 2008

Commercial Peace And Political Competition In The Crosshairs Of International Arbitration, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.


International Commercial Arbitration And International Courts, Mark L. Movsesian Apr 2008

International Commercial Arbitration And International Courts, Mark L. Movsesian

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.


Litigation, Arbitration, And The Transnational Shadow Of Law, Christopher A. Whytock Apr 2008

Litigation, Arbitration, And The Transnational Shadow Of Law, Christopher A. Whytock

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.


International Human Rights Law In Investment Arbitration: Evidence Of International Law’S Unity, James D. Fry Oct 2007

International Human Rights Law In Investment Arbitration: Evidence Of International Law’S Unity, James D. Fry

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.


Odious, Illegitimate, Illegal, Or Legal Debts—What Difference Does It Make For International Chapter 9 Debt Arbitration?, Kunibert Raffer Oct 2007

Odious, Illegitimate, Illegal, Or Legal Debts—What Difference Does It Make For International Chapter 9 Debt Arbitration?, Kunibert Raffer

Law and Contemporary Problems

Once upon a time, sovereign debts were just that-debts or the entitlement to be repaid fully, including interest. During the 1970s it was thought unnecessary to make any distinctions between debts, based on the assumption that sovereigns might possibly become illiquid, but could never become insolvent. Commercial banks disregarded the most elementary rules of prudent banking, including their duty of due diligence as lenders, laboring on the assumption that whatever flowed into developing countries would eventually flow back with fees and interest. Here, Raffer discusses the international dchapter nine debt arbitration.


Deterrence And Implied Limits On Arbitral Power, Michael A. Scodro Dec 2005

Deterrence And Implied Limits On Arbitral Power, Michael A. Scodro

Duke Law Journal

Employment, brokerage, and other contracts routinely include "predispute" arbitration clauses-provisions requiring the parties to submit any and all future disputes to arbitrators rather than courts. In recent years, courts have come to enforce these clauses in the vast run of cases, requiring parties to arbitrate even when the underlying dispute implicates employment discrimination, antitrust, or other "public law" rights. In response to this trend, interest has grown in the extent of courts' authority to overturn arbitral awards that do not give effect to such rights. At first blush, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not appear to authorize any such …


Using Arbitration To Eliminate Consumer Class Actions: Efficient Business Practice Or Unconscionable Abuse?, Jean R. Sternlight, Elizabeth J. Jensen Apr 2004

Using Arbitration To Eliminate Consumer Class Actions: Efficient Business Practice Or Unconscionable Abuse?, Jean R. Sternlight, Elizabeth J. Jensen

Law and Contemporary Problems

Companies are increasingly using arbitral class action prohibitions to insulate themselves from class action liability. These prohibitions are detrimental not only to potential class members but to the public at large in that they are preventing the law from being adequately enforced. In essence, by precluding class actions, companies are engaging in "do-it-yourself tort reform," freeing themselves from liability without having to convince legislatures to change the substantive law.


Democracy And Dispute Resolution: The Problem Of Arbitration, Richard C. Reuben Apr 2004

Democracy And Dispute Resolution: The Problem Of Arbitration, Richard C. Reuben

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article seeks to bring the submerged issue of arbitration's relationship to democracy to the surface of the mandatory arbitration debate. Its goal is relatively modest: To recognize and articulate the relationship between democracy and arbitration as an issue worth considering, to analyze the democratic character of arbitration and to suggest some implications of this assessment.


Correcting Federalism Mistakes In Statutory Interpretation: The Supreme Court And The Federal Arbitration Act, David S. Schwartz Apr 2004

Correcting Federalism Mistakes In Statutory Interpretation: The Supreme Court And The Federal Arbitration Act, David S. Schwartz

Law and Contemporary Problems

The current judicial treatment of the Federal Arbitration Act is an embarrassment to a Supreme Court whose majority is supposed to be leading a federalism revival, if not a federalism revolution. In 1984, in Southland Corp. v. Keating, the Court held that the FAA is substantive federal law that preempts state laws regulating arbitration agreements. The Court thereby transformed a quaint, 60-year-old procedural statute into "a permanent, unauthorized eviction of state-court power to adjudicate a potentially large class of disputes," as well as an eviction of state lawmaking power over the traditional state domain of contract law. Even worse, Southland …


A Behavioral Analysis Of Private Judging, Christopher R. Drahozal Apr 2004

A Behavioral Analysis Of Private Judging, Christopher R. Drahozal

Law and Contemporary Problems

Businesses cite arbitration as a way to avoid aberrant jury verdicts, implicitly if not explicitly assuming that arbitrators make "better" decisions than juries. By contrast, consumer advocates criticize arbitration as a way for businesses to avoid paying damages to deserving claimants, effectively assuming that juries make better decisions than arbitrators. These conflicting perspectives pose an important question in the debate over predispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts: How do decisions by arbitrators compare to decisions by juries?


The High Cost Of Mandatory Consumer Arbitration, Mark E. Budnitz Apr 2004

The High Cost Of Mandatory Consumer Arbitration, Mark E. Budnitz

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article critically examines a sampling of arbitration agreements and the rules of the major arbitration service providers and concludes that the cost of arbitration is often prohibitively high, either because consumers simply cannot afford the fees attendant to filing and prosecuting a claim or because the costs of bringing a claim outweigh the benefits of any potential remedies.


Control Over Dispute-System Design And Mandatory Commercial Arbitration, Lisa B. Bingham Apr 2004

Control Over Dispute-System Design And Mandatory Commercial Arbitration, Lisa B. Bingham

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article argues that mandatory arbitration is not itself the problem. The problem is instead that in some instances, one party to the dispute has exclusive control of the design of the dispute-resolution system. Consequently, research on mandatory arbitration should concentrate on who is structuring it, how they structure it, why this is so and how these choices affect dispute outcomes.


Contracting With Tortfeasors: Mandatory Arbitration Clauses And Personal Injury Claims, Elizabeth G. Thornburg Apr 2004

Contracting With Tortfeasors: Mandatory Arbitration Clauses And Personal Injury Claims, Elizabeth G. Thornburg

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article examines some of the cases in which courts have enforced arbitration clauses in personal injury litigation and considers why courts have reached the outcomes they have. It evaluates the ways that arbitration can disturb the traditional values of procedural justice, contractual fairness and the enforcement of tort-based duties. It suggests changes in the law regarding mandatory arbitration of personal injury claims and explores the extent to which change is possible.


A Matter Of Good Form: The (Downsized) Hague Judgments Convention And Conditions Of Formal Validity For The Enforcement Of Forum Selection Agreements, Jason Webb Yackee Dec 2003

A Matter Of Good Form: The (Downsized) Hague Judgments Convention And Conditions Of Formal Validity For The Enforcement Of Forum Selection Agreements, Jason Webb Yackee

Duke Law Journal

Can the Hague Judgments Convention be saved through radical downsizing? It has been more than ten years since the Hague Conference on Private International Law (Hague Conference) first officially began exploring the possibility of drafting a global convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. (1) It has been more than four years since the Conference presented its preliminary draft convention, (2) itself modeled largely on the European Community's 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels I). (3) However, this preliminary draft convention was rejected …


“Mediation-Only” Filings In The Delaware Court Of Chancery: Can New Value Be Added By One Of America’S Business Courts?, Leo E. Strine Jr. Nov 2003

“Mediation-Only” Filings In The Delaware Court Of Chancery: Can New Value Be Added By One Of America’S Business Courts?, Leo E. Strine Jr.

Duke Law Journal

The following Essay by Vice Chancellor Leo Strine of the Delaware Court of Chancery advocates the enactment of legislation that authorizes the Court of Chancery to handle "mediation-only" cases. Such cases would be filed solely to invoke the aid of a Chancellor to mediate a business dispute between parties. By advocating this innovative dispute resolution option, the Essay embraces a new dimension of the American judicial role that allows American businesses to more efficiently solve complicated business controversies. The mediation-only device was conceived in 2001 by members of the Delaware judiciary, including Vice Chancellor Strine, in consultation with members of …


Is The Revised Uniform Arbitration Act A Good Fit For Alaska?, Carl H. Johnson, Pete D. A. Petersen Dec 2002

Is The Revised Uniform Arbitration Act A Good Fit For Alaska?, Carl H. Johnson, Pete D. A. Petersen

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.


Trade Legalism And International Relations Theory: An Analysis Of The World Trade Organization, G. Richard Shell Mar 1995

Trade Legalism And International Relations Theory: An Analysis Of The World Trade Organization, G. Richard Shell

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Breakdown Of The Control Mechanism In Icsid Arbitration, W. Michael Reisman Sep 1989

The Breakdown Of The Control Mechanism In Icsid Arbitration, W. Michael Reisman

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Agreements Changing The Forum For Resolving Malpractice Claims, James A. Henderson Jr. Apr 1986

Agreements Changing The Forum For Resolving Malpractice Claims, James A. Henderson Jr.

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.


Contractual Revisions To Medical Malpractice Liability, William H. Ginsburg, Steven J. Kahn, Michael C. Thornhill, Steven C. Gambardella Apr 1986

Contractual Revisions To Medical Malpractice Liability, William H. Ginsburg, Steven J. Kahn, Michael C. Thornhill, Steven C. Gambardella

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.