Law Commons^™

Using The Theories Of Exit, Voice, Loyalty, And Procedural Justice To Reconceptualize Brazil's Rejection Of Bilateral Investment Treaties, Nancy A. Welsh, Andrea Kupfer Schneider, Kathryn Rimpfel

Nancy Welsh

In the past decade, investor-state arbitration has made tremendous gains in both credibility and use. There is now widespread accession to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“ICSID Convention” or “Washington Convention”). States have executed more than 2,000 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) defining the terms and conditions under which one (“investor”) state’s nationals and companies will invest in the other (“host”) state. Such terms include provisions allowing foreign investors to initiate arbitration proceedings against the host state, and at this point, more than 500 disputes have been submitted to investor-state arbitration. …

The Thoughtful Integration Of Mediation Into Bilateral Investment Treaty Arbitration, Nancy A. Welsh, Andrea Kupfer Schneider

Nancy Welsh

While the current system of investment treaty arbitration has definitely improved upon the “gunboat diplomacy” used at times to address disputes between states and foreign investors, there are signs that reform is needed: states and investors increasingly express concerns regarding the costs associated with the arbitration process, some states refuse to comply with arbitral awards, other states hesitate to sign new bilateral investment treaties, and citizens have begun to engage in popular unrest at the prospect of investment treaty arbitration. As a result, both investors and states are advocating for the use of mediation to supplement investor-state arbitration. This Article …

Mandatory Mediation And Its Variations, Nancy A. Welsh

Nancy Welsh

The use of arbitration to resolve international investment disputes clearly represents an improvement over “gunboat diplomacy” and its implicit threat of violent confrontation. Nonetheless, investors, States and other stakeholders have begun to express dissatisfaction with some elements of arbitration in the international investment treaty context. First, arbitration proceedings can be quite lengthy, and their transaction costs seem to be increasing. Second, parties’ compliance is not guaranteed. Some States suggest they may refuse to abide by arbitral awards. Third, the process focuses parties on their legal rights when non-legal issues may be equally important and useful to achieve resolution. Fourth, arbitration …

Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitration Agreements And Awards: Application Of The New York Convention In The United States, Louis Del Duca, Nancy A. Welsh

Nancy Welsh

Internationalc ommercial arbitrationp rovides customized and efficient resolution for disputes arising out of transnational commerce. When arbitration occurs in states that have ratified the New York Convention, the process also offers enforceable outcomes even in states other than the one where the arbitration occurred. The United States ratified the New York Convention in 1970, and its courts overwhelmingly enforce both arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. There are exceptions, however, and American courts require the use of certain procedures.

This Article provides a brief survey of American courts' recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. It begins by …