Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

Foreword, Charles S. Colgan

Maine Law Review

The Free Trade Agreement concluded between the United States and Canada, and signed on January 2, 1988, has a number of features that distinguish it among the trade agreements of the United States. It eliminates all tariffs, reduces restrictions on business travel, and establishes ground rules for trade in services and for foreign investment. In this latter respect, the Agreement is unique among major international trade agreements of the world. But one of the most enduring aspects of the Agreement is likely to be the provisions establishing a series of dispute settlement mechanisms. This last observation would probably surprise almost …

Introduction To Symposium: Alternative Dispute Resolution In Canada-United States Trade Relations, George J. Mitchell

Maine Law Review

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) movement in law arose domestically as the pressures on our court system threatened to deprive individual citizens of their "day in court." Maine is a leader in the development and elaboration of the principles and practicalities that must be mastered for ADR mechanisms to function. The University of Maine School of Law symposium examining the application of ADR principles to international disputes focuses specifically on the trade relationship between the United States and Canada. But its examination of both the innovations and limitations of ADR to the resolution of international disputes is broader than this …

The International Court Of Justice: New Challenges In The Hague For Adjudication Of Interstate Disputes, John Bellinger, Catherine Amirfar, Sarah H. Cleveland, Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo Verduzco

Faculty Scholarship

This panel was convened on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. by its moderator Catherine Amirfar of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, who introduced the panelists: Sarah Cleveland of Columbia University Law School; and Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo Verduzco, the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations for Mexico.

Oil And A Slippery Path To Conflict: Conocophillips, Guyana, And The Hostile Elephant In The Room, Vivian M. Williams

Publications and Research

The increasing involvement of States and their surrogates in cross-border commercial activities has heralded an urgent need for codification of the well-established public international law rule of sovereign immunity. The problem is particularly thorny in international arbitration when corporate entities seek to enlist the courts of one State to seize the property of another state to enforce an arbitral award. The complex nature of sovereign immunity in a globalized economy and the challenge it poses for courts in the Caribbean, was highlighted in enforcement proceeding brought by oil giant, ConocoPhillips against Venezuela’s State corporations. This article therefore discusses (a) the …

Questionable Arbitrator Habits, Robert H. Smit

Faculty Scholarship

International arbitrators do some things in conducting arbitrations, that tend to go without saying, but that I struggle to accept without question. I speak not of major procedural missteps that run afoul of principles of due process or of procedural “best practices” codified in soft law instruments like the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence. Rather, I speak of some of the smaller, uncodified procedural behaviors — procedural habits, I call them — that international arbitrators adopt within the confines, and between the interstices, of those codified due process and soft law “best practice” parameters. I speak of widely …

Singapore Convention: Should Indonesia Ratify It?, Ahmad Rifa'i, Dimas Ramadhansyah

Indonesian Journal of International Law

As cross-border trading develops, there is an increasing need for an effective dispute resolution system to solve disputes on business transactions. Mediation is a well-established method of efficient alternative dispute resolution that was recently internationally recognized under a specific treaty. The United Nations General Assembly took a resolution to adopt the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Resulting from Mediation (“Singapore Convention”). The Indonesian government has tried to boost foreign investment, but such efforts have been delayed due to a legal enforcement issue, which requires a legal reform to provide certainty for investors by providing a seamless and internationally recognized …

Consumer Litigant Finance And Legal Ethics: Empirical Observations From Texas, Anthony J. Sebok, Lynn A. Baker

Articles

A handful of states, including Texas, have Rules of Professional Responsibility which permit attorneys to provide cash advances to their own clients. In previous work, we suggested that if more states permitted law firms to offer this sort of funding to their clients it would increase competition within the consumer litigant funding market, to the benefit of consumers. We also hypothesized that relaxing these existing prohibitions would better enable tort claimants to decline low-ball settlement offers from defendants in one-off cases.

This Article offers some initial insights into these questions. It reports the findings of our modest empirical study involving …

Rights In Conflict: Examining Investment Treaty Arbitration And Intellectual Property Rights In The Wake Of Russia’S Invasion Of Ukraine, Grace Klutke

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This article examines how the armed Ukraine-Russia conflict opened a doorway for a wave of international arbitration via corporate actions against Russia for violating BIT obligations. To provide context for the suggested BIT arbitration against Russia, this article begins with a brief discussion of the historical background of this conflict and investor-state treaty arbitration. This article next pivots to analyze the applicability of investor-state treaty arbitration to compensate lost IP investments in three parts. Part I considers how investor-state treaty arbitration function with ongoing armed conflict and which investors may initiate investor-state treaty claims. Next, Part II reports on the …

Dol Fiduciary Rule 3.0 Strikeout, Base Knock, Or Home Run?, Antolin Reiber

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Money Is Morphing - Cryptocurrency Can Morph To Be An Environmentally And Financially Sustainable Alternative To Traditional Banking, Clovia Hamilton

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Survey Evidence In Trademark Actions, Ioana Vasiu And Lucian Vasiu

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance And Compelled Speech: Do State-Imposed Board Diversity Mandates Violate Free Speech?, Salar Ghahramani

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Real Persons Are The Corporations We Made Along The Way, Leonard Brahin

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Economic Sanctions And Article V(2)(B) Of The New York Convention: A Touchy Interaction Exacerbated By The Ukraine-Russia Conflict, Alberto Pomari

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

States have deployed an unprecedented wave of unilateral sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They have also escalated the political connotation of economic sanctions by aggressively implementing them extraterritorially. This exercise of lawfare, substituting economic sanctions for armed conflict, raises the question of whether to consider unilateral sanctions elements of public policy within the meaning of Article V(2)(b) of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. This article seeks to clarify the interplay between Article V(2)(b) and economic sanctions. Explaining the two different approaches that domestic courts implement worldwide, recent court …

American Handling Of Holocaust Property Takings: What We Can Learn From International Policies, Matthew Franks

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The Supreme Court decision in Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp and US enforcement of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act have made it extremely difficult for Holocaust survivors and their families to recover lost and stolen property from during the World War II era. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, have had great success in this arena through various methods. This Note explores the ways in which US jurisprudence continues to make recovery inaccessible, while highlighting the specific processes these few European countries have created to foster recovery. Finally, this Note argues that the US must …

Labor Enforcement In The Us-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Design, Motivation, And Reality, Inu Manak, Alfredo Carrillo Obregon

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) includes a novel feature in the agreement’s dispute settlement provisions: the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM). The stated purpose of the RRM is to ensure the remediation of a denial of collective bargaining rights for workers in certain covered facilities. Its novelty is that it does not follow the typical labor claims processes as found in previous trade agreements, nor is it structured like traditional state-to-state dispute settlement. Primarily, it provides a means to take swift action against a facility when the complainant deems that a denial of specific labor rights is taking place. Essentially, …

What Is The Price Of Withdrawing From Investor-State Dispute Settlement Provisions In An Era Of Climate Conscious Policy? Comparing Latin America's Rejection Of Foreign Investor Control To The Fallout From The Energy Charter Treaty, Carrie Swiggum

Student Scholarship

This article examines Investor-State Dispute Settlements criticisms and intended benefits as it comes up in public law issues such as the Energy Charter Treaty. The treaty is the world’s largest multilateral treaty, with about 50 member countries, and the most litigated, with most cases decided by arbitration. There is criticism against an inability to modernize the treaty due to concerns regarding climate change as well as criticism against the investor-state dispute settlement system itself, because of arbitration’s secrecy and lack of public involvement. This article argues that countries should leave unilaterally as they have begun to do, avoiding the regulatory …

Rico's Long Arm, Randy D. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

RICO has for over 50 years presented something of a parlor game for lawyers, mostly because its text leaves wide latitude in interpretation. And, as is often the case with RICO, resolution of one question begets more. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin proves no exception. Here, the Court brought some clarity to a question left open by RJR Nabisco: viz, what must one plead and prove to satisfy the “domestic injury” requirement necessary to invoke an extraterritorial application of RICO. The Court held that a foreign plaintiff can indeed, given the right facts and circumstances, establish …

Multiple Proceedings And Abuse Of Procedure On Bri Disputes, Mariam Gotsiridze

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article argues that specific mechanisms and best practices should be adopted by different players in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) dispute resolution ecosystem to mitigate the risks of multiple proceedings and abuse of procedure. Specifically, (i) states should enhance their multilateral and bilateral treaty practices; (ii) arbitral institutions should enhance their arbitral rules as well as cooperate with each other; and (iii) states should direct more efforts to dispute prevention and amicable dispute settlement. This article will explain what these best practices and mechanisms are.

Applicable Law And The Civil And Common Law Divide, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

In examining the relevance of civil law and common law synergies in international arbitration, we often dwell on aspects of arbitral practice and procedure. This should occasion no surprise. Our attention turns to arbitral practice and procedure, for that is what we do, as arbitrator and counsel, and on a daily basis. Leaving aside investor-State arbitration, in which substantive public international law looms large, international arbitration is very much a procedural endeavor.

But it should not be forgotten that the differences between the civil law and the common law manifest themselves not only, and not even primarily, in practice and …

Introduction To The Symposium, Julian Arato, Jonathan Bonnitcha, Mavluda Sattorva

Other Publications

This symposium explores the interrelation and juxtaposition of private and public registers in the logics and practices of private international law, public international law, and foreign relations law. It is inspired by the scholarly work of a brilliant scholar and much-missed friend: Karen Knop, Professor and Cecil A. Wright Chair at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (1960–2022).

Belt And Road Initiative: Legal Mechanism To Recover Stolen Assets, Veltrice Tan

Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the types of legal mechanisms that authorities can use to recover stolen assets for and from China. Design/methodology/approach: Newspaper articles and books are examined as are relevant reports by various regulatory authorities and academic institutions. Findings: The effectiveness of legal mechanisms in the recovery of stolen assets may be affected by issues such as the difficulties in tracing illicit funds, the ambiguous nature of “value” as well as the rise in technology. Research limitations/implications: There are limited data available in relation to the prevalence of corrupt officials along the Belt and Road Initiative and …

The Belt And Road Initiative: Conflict Of Laws And Dispute Resolution, Veltrice Tan

Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the adaptability of China’s legal system in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements in China. Design/methodology/approach: Academic articles, case law and books are examined as are relevant reports by various regulatory authorities and organizations. Findings: Historically, Chinese courts have strictly adhered to “de facto reciprocity”, which made it difficult for foreign judgements to be recognized and enforced in China. Fortunately, Chinese courts have since abandoned their rigid adherence to de facto reciprocity, and have instead, used flexible tests of reciprocity such as de jure reciprocity, reciprocal commitment and reciprocal understand/consensus. Accordingly, this would facilitate the …

A History Of Corporate Law Federalism In The Twentieth Century, William W. Bratton

Seattle University Law Review

This Article describes the emergence of corporate law federalism across a long twentieth century. The period begins with New Jersey’s successful initiation of charter competition in 1888 and ends with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. The federalism in question describes the interrelation of state and federal regulation of corporate internal affairs. This Article takes a positive approach, pursuing no normative bottom line. It makes six observations: (1) the federalism describes a division of subject matter, with internal affairs regulated by the states and securities issuance and trading regulated by the federal government; (2) the federalism is an …

Stakeholder Capitalism’S Greatest Challenge: Reshaping A Public Consensus To Govern A Global Economy, Leo E. Strine Jr., Michael Klain

Seattle University Law Review

The Berle XIV: Developing a 21st Century Corporate Governance Model Conference asks whether there is a viable 21st Century Stakeholder Governance model. In our conference keynote article, we argue that to answer that question yes requires restoring—to use Berle’s term—a “public consensus” throughout the global economy in favor of the balanced model of New Deal capitalism, within which corporations could operate in a way good for all their stakeholders and society, that Berle himself supported.

The world now faces problems caused in large part by the enormous international power of corporations and the institutional investors who dominate their governance. These …

Henderson And The Objective Observer Standard: The Future Of Race-Conscious Standards Post-Students For Fair Admissions, Gabriela Dionisio

Seattle University Law Review

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, which struck down race-conscious admissions policies. Within just a year after its ruling, Students for Fair Admissions has already had a sweeping impact, reaching beyond higher education. Although the Supreme Court did not indicate whether Students for Fair Admissions applies to sectors beyond higher education, law firms, and other employers have already modified their diversity policies and initiatives, erasing race and company diversity considerations. Given those dramatic changes, there is growing fear that Students for Fair Admissions …

Same Crime, Different Time: Sentencing Disparities In The Deep South & A Path Forward Under The Fourteenth Amendment, Hailey M. Donovan

Seattle University Law Review

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. The American obsession with crime and punishment can be tracked over the last half-century, as the nation’s incarceration rate has risen astronomically. Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people in the United States has increased more than sevenfold to over 2.3 million, outpacing both crime and population growth considerably. While the rise itself is undoubtedly bleak, a more troubling truth lies just below the surface. Not all states contribute equally to American mass incarceration. Rather, states have vastly different incarceration rates. Unlike at the federal level, …

Public Primacy In Corporate Law, Dorothy S. Lund

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the malleability of agency theory by showing that it could be used to justify a “public primacy” standard for corporate law that would direct fiduciaries to promote the value of the corporation for the benefit of the public. Employing agency theory to describe the relationship between corporate management and the broader public sheds light on aspects of firm behavior, as well as the nature of state contracting with corporations. It also provides a lodestar for a possible future evolution of corporate law and governance: minimize the agency costs created by the divergence of interests between management and …

Stakeholder Governance As Governance By Stakeholders, Brett Mcdonnell

Seattle University Law Review

Much debate within corporate governance today centers on the proper role of corporate stakeholders, such as employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and local communities. Scholars and reformers advocate for greater attention to stakeholder interests under a variety of banners, including ESG, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and stakeholder governance. So far, that advocacy focuses almost entirely on arguing for an expanded understanding of corporate purpose. It argues that corporate governance should be for various stakeholders, not shareholders alone.

This Article examines and approves of that broadened understanding of corporate purpose. However, it argues that we should understand stakeholder governance as extending well …