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Recognition By Any Other Name: Article 3 Of The Singapore Convention On Mediation, Timothy Schnabel

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The heart of the Singapore Convention is contained in its third article. Other parts of the treaty's text, such as Article 1 (addressing the scope of the Convention), consumed more hours of the negotiations, and Article 5 (addressing grounds for refusal) will likely be the focus of most of the eventual litigation regarding the Convention's application to particular disputes. Moreover, most of the Convention's fifteen other articles are longer and more detailed than Article 3. Yet only Article 3 imposes affirmative obligations on Parties to the Convention. All other articles merely play supporting roles, such as placing boundaries on the …

Singapore Convention Defences Based On Mediator's Misconduct: Articles 5.1(E) & (F), Michel Kallipetis

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

At the February 2019 ICC Mediation Competition in Paris, Damien Cote from Canada and David Lewis from New York moderated a "debate" on the Singapore Convention. One of the panellists launched into a full-scale attack on the Convention, in which he dismissed it on the basis that the "whole document resembled the New York Convention and was redolent of arbitration rather than mediation." The speaker focused on Article 5 and the Grounds for Refusing Relief, and he was particularly critical of Articles 5.1(e) and (f). He expressed his view that these articles were apposite to the setting aside of an …

Grounds To Refuse The Enforcement Of Settlement Agreements Under The Singapore Convention On Mediation: Purpose, Scope, And Their Importance For The Success Of The Convention, Héctor Flores Sentíes

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article will attempt to: (i) explain the purpose behind the drafting of the grounds to refuse enforcement; (ii) describe the scope of these defenses, based on the deliberations of the Working Group that drafted the Singapore Convention; and finally, (iii) briefly comment on the relationship between the scope of the defenses and the likelihood of the success of the Singapore Convention.

The Singapore Convention: Reflections On Articles 1.3 On Scope, 8.1(B) On Reservations, And 12 On Regional Economic Integration Organizations, Norel Rosner

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted on 20 December 2018 the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the "Convention"). The Convention opened for signature in Singapore in August 2019. The UN adoption marks the culmination of a process that started in 2014 at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL"), first with discussions on the proposal to take up this project and then, as of September 2015, on the actual principles, form, and text of the instruments to be drafted. The Convention was drafted in conjunction with a Model. Law that contains …

Reservations In The Singapore Convention-Helping To Make The "New York Dream" Come True, Itai Apter, Coral Henig Muchnik

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Following a brief introduction of the Singapore Convention, this article discusses the concept of reservations in international law and the importance of such mechanisms for facilitating adherence to multilateral treaties. It then focuses on two elements of the reservation mechanism including their drafting history, purposes, and consequences. In the final section of the article, we explain how these reservations will likely constitute a key component to the success of the Singapore Convention.

The Universal Periodic Review As A Form Of Alternative Dispute Resolution: Strengths & Shortcomings, Sara Alvarez

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

No abstract provided.

A Solution To The Silencing And Denial: How Adr Can Harmonize Catholic Law With The International Communities Demand To End The Sexual Victimization Of Children In The Catholic Church, Danielle Shayne Shapero

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The causal connection between clericalism and sexual abuse is evident, "namely the tendency of the hierarchy to protect priests, the tendency to cover reports in deep secrecy and the massive denial about the seriousness of the problem.'' In order to truly combat the global crisis of child abuse permeating the religious order, alternative dispute resolution strategies between the Holy See and the global community should be considered as a means of promulgating new ecclesiastical laws for the successful management of institutionalized sexual misconduct. In Part II, this Note will discuss the history of exposure leading to the public's knowledge and …

Reverse Contributors? African State Parties, Icsid, And The Development Of International Investment Law, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

International investment disputes involving African states before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) have generated significant critical inquiry. Yet, accounts of their contribution to the development of international investment law as a result of these dispute are limited. This article addresses this gap. It examines the contribution of some of the high-profile ICSID disputes involving African states to the development of international investment law. Notwithstanding the charges against African States in ICSID, I contend that the involvement of African States in ICSID Disputes has contributed to the development of international investment law. In particular, the jurisprudence that …

Promises Unfulfilled: How Investment Arbitration Tribunals Mishandle Corruption Claims And Undermine International Development, Andrew T. Bulovsky

Michigan Law Review

In recent years, the investment-arbitration and anti-corruption regimes have been in tension. Investment tribunals have jurisdiction to arbitrate disputes between investors and host states under international treaties that provide substantive protections for private investments. But these tribunals will typically decline to exercise jurisdiction over a dispute if the host state asserts that corruption tainted the investment. When tribunals close their doors to ag-grieved investors, tribunals increase the risks for investors and thus raise the cost of international investment. At the same time, the decision to decline jurisdiction creates a perverse incentive for host states to turn a blind eye to …

European Union Law And International Arbitration At A Crossroads, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

It is no exaggeration to describe the relationship between the European Union and international arbitration as the most dramatic confrontation between two international legal regimes seen in a great many years. International law scholars commonly lament the "fragmentation" of international law, i.e., the co-existence of multiple international legal regimes whose competences overlap and whose policies may differ, resulting in a degree of regulatory disorder. However, seldom do these regimes actually "collide." By contrast, the two international regimes in which we are interested this evening international arbitration and the European Union may be described, without hyperbole, as on a collision course. …

International Arbitration: Out Of The Shadows, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses a diverse number of issues that have affected the strength and popularity of international arbitration among its users. It emphasises the importance of the arbitration community recognising the force and validity of a number of critiques of the process and developing strategies for dealing with them. It is an edited version of a Keynote Address delivered at the ADR in Asia Conference on 29 October 2018.

Retour Sur L’Affaire De L’Alabama: De L’Utilité Et De L’Histoire Pour L'Arbitrage International, William W. Park, Bruno De Fumichon

Faculty Scholarship

For any aficionado of international law and international arbitration, the 1872 Alabama case represents a rich historical landmark, as promising a mine as the wreck of the Confederate Ship Alabama itself, sunk off Cherbourg, in 1864, by the United States Ship Kearsarge. This arbitration represents a turning point in relations between the United States and Great Britain, from repeated conflict to a “Special Relationship” that has grown stronger during the past century and a half. The case also marked the revival of international arbitration, after centuries of uncertainty. Not least, the case introduced long-lasting procedural innovations: the neutral collegial tribunal, …

Unity And Diversity In International Law, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

The primordial Greek sea-god Proteus could alter his shape at will, notwithstanding that his divine substance remained the same. Reinventing himself by adapting to new circumstances, Proteus still stayed unchanged in essence.

Unlike the sea-god’s protean nature, the substance of international law may well undergo alterations when examined through the telescope of legal culture, or with predispositions of divergent educational backgrounds. For the thoughtful reader, scholarly speculation on such variations will be triggered by reading Is International Law International?. In that book, Professor Anthea Roberts explores a variety of elements in the teaching and practice of international law, viewed …

The Inaugural Brooklyn Lecture On International Business Law: “Isds: The Wild, Wild West Of International Practice”, George Kahale Iii

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The lecture was delivered on April 3, 2018 at Brooklyn Law School and was sponsored by the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law and the Brooklyn Journal of International Law.

Rethinking Isds, George Kahale Iii

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The author is Chairman of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP and has acted as lead counsel for respondent states in many investor-state arbitrations, including several of the cases referred to herein. His article won the 2019 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing.

Updates To The Uncitral Legislative Guide On Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects, Brooke Guven, Motoko Aizawa

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI, jointly with The Observatory for Sustainable Infrastructure, submitted comments to the UNCITRAL Secretariat regarding updates to the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects. CCSI’s comments focused on the need for an updated guide, which will now refer to Public Private Partnerships, to holistically and systematically incorporate considerations of: (1) sustainable development and the SDGs, (2) rebalancing of the public versus private nature of PPPs, (3) transparency, participation, accountability, and remedy, (4) empirical evidence-based assessments of contexts in which PPPs may be desirable, (5) objectives of investment and PPPs, (6) human rights, (7) labor, (8) climate change, …

We Are All Farkhunda: An Examination Of The Treatment Of Women Within Afghanistan's Formal Legal System, Ashley Lenderman

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

In this paper, I will examine three cases of violence against women that went through the Afghan formal legal system: the case of Farkhunda, the Paghman district gang rape case, and the case of Sahar Gul. In the first Part, I will discuss the formal legal system framework on which the cases are based. In the second Part, I will discuss the cases in detail. In the third Part, I will describe neo-liberal, reformist, and neo-fundamentalist approaches to interpretation of Islamic law, and I will then draw out pieces of the decisions from the three cases that closely match these …

Voila! Taking The Judge Out Of Divorce, Margaret Ryznar, Angélique Devaux

Seattle University Law Review

This Article examines the possibility of non-judicial divorce in the United States based on the French model. Part I begins by examining the recognition of divorce by agreement of the parties in France. Part II analyzes the judicial role in American divorces, and whether it bars either domestic non-judicial divorce or recognition of foreign non-judicial divorce. Part III undertakes a comparative analysis, concluding that the United States may be amenable to non-judicial divorces that occur not only abroad but, eventually, within its own borders.

The New York Convention: A Self-Executing Treaty, Gary B. Born

Michigan Journal of International Law

The thesis of this Article is that uncertainty regarding the Convention’s status as a self-executing treaty of the United States is unwarranted and unfortunate. Instead, both the Convention’s provisions for recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements (in Article II) and of arbitral awards (in Articles III, IV, V, and VI) should be regarded as self-executing and directly applicable in U.S. (and other national) courts. As discussed in detail below, this is because Article II establishes mandatory, complete, and comprehensive substantive rules, directed specifically to national courts, for the recognition and enforcement of international arbitration agreements. Likewise, the history and purposes …

International Dispute Resolution: International Commercial Arbitration: 2018-19, Hugh Meighen

Osgoode Course Casebooks

Course number: 3007D.03

The Scope Of Party Autonomy In International Commercial Contracts: A New Dawn?, Akinwumi Olawuyi Ogunranti

LLM Theses

Transnational contracts are almost inevitable in the world today. It follows that a system of law must govern the resolution of disputes that arise from the contracts. The freedom of parties to choose a law that regulates transnational contracts is recognized by most countries as party autonomy. However, the extent of this autonomy has been controversial. This thesis unravels the controversy surrounding the doctrine of party autonomy and, more importantly, provides another perspective to the argument – that the application and scope of party autonomy in countries is determined by historical, colonial, economic, and religious factors. It uses this as …

Economic Crises And Foreign Investors: Between Necessity And Reparation, Suha Ballan

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The article critiques the current investor-state arbitration system for its reliance on private law analogies, which often results in all-or-nothing outcomes unsuitable for addressing economic crises. It advocates for integrating public law remedies into the system to better balance corrective justice with broader economic stability and context. The analysis highlights the limitations of the necessity defense in international law and proposes alternative approaches, such as mandatory insurance and fund allocation models, to address these challenges more effectively.

Outcome Report Of Roundtable On International Investment Regime And Access To Justice, Michelle Chan, Kanika Gupta, Jesse Coleman, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

On October 18, 2017, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the CCSI co-hosted a one-day roundtable on the impacts of the international investment regime on access to justice for investment-affected individuals and communities.

Held at Columbia University in New York, the roundtable brought together 32 individuals from civil society organizations, communities affected by investments at the heart of investor-state claims, governments, academia, donor organizations, UN mandate holders, and other stakeholder groups. The roundtable provided an opportunity for participants to: (i) explore and assess the specific impacts of international investment agreements and investor-state dispute settlement on access …

Human Rights The "Asean Way": Exploring The Possibilities For A Regional Adr And Adjudicative Body In Southeast Asia, Mariam Sarwar

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Feel The Earth Move – Shifts In The International Dispute Resolution Landscape, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This blog post discusses the themes in international dispute resolution that emerged from a panel on 25 July 2018 at the 2018 UNCITRAL Emergence Conference, moderated by Professor Nadja Alexander, CEO of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy.

International Arbitration - Between Myth And Reality: The 9th John E.C. Brierly Memorial Lecture, Susan Franck

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The first woman to deliver the John E.C. Brierly Memorial Lecture in November 2016, Susan Franck explores common but flawed accounts of international arbitration based on anecdotes and myths while encouraging the audience to pay more attention to scientific facts. While acknowledging the challenges of living in a “post-factual” society, she argues that international arbitration, whether commercial or investment-based, is caught within a larger geo-political maelstrom which includes a backlash against globalization, the popularization of populism, and a turn toward nationalism. Rather than permitting decisions to be affected by an emotive torrent of intuitive forces that facilitate decisions based upon …

The European Succession Regulation And The Arbitration Of Trust Disputes, S. I. Strong

Faculty Publications

Over the last few decades, U.S. citizens have become increasingly mobile, with significant numbers of individuals living, working, and investing abroad. Estate planning has become equally international, generating ever-larger numbers of cross-border succession cases. While these sorts of developments are welcome, they require lawyers to appreciate and anticipate the various ways that the laws of different jurisdictions can interact. One of the most important recent developments in international succession law comes out of the European Union. While the European Succession Regulation may initially appear applicable only to nationals of E. U. Member States, U.S. citizens can also be affected by …

Singapore High Court Rejects Application To Adjourn Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitral Award, Wei Ming Tan, Aaron Yoong, Lixin Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the recent decision of Man Diesel & Turbo SE v I.M. Skaugen Marine Services Pte Ltd [2018] SGHC 132, the Singapore High Court (“HC”) rejected an application to adjourn the enforcement of an arbitral award that was also the subject of a setting aside application in Denmark, the seat of the arbitration. This case is the first of its kind in Singapore and provides clarity as to when litigants can seek an adjournment of proceedings to enforce a foreign arbitral award.

Charting A New Course In Cuba? Why The Time Is Now To Settle Outstanding American Property Claims, Marco Antonio Dueñas

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The recent warming of relations between the United States and Cuba offered generations of Cubans; Americans; and Cuban Americans renewed hope for normalized relations. One obstacle—satisfactory resolution of property claims—stands in the way; which dates back to the Cuban government’s nationalization of all U.S. assets on the island. The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (the “Helms-Burton Act”) predicates resolution of these decades-old property claims by the Cuban government as an essential condition for the full resumption of economic and diplomatic relations between the two neighbors. Separated by only ninety miles of Caribbean Sea; but more than a …

Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Is There A Better Alternative?, Emily Osmanski

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As the world has transitioned from national; isolated economies with localized issues into a globalized and interconnected economy with cross-border disputes; the law has struggled to keep up. Recent trade negotiations have highlighted the difficulty states face in promoting trade; while also creating a fair; accessible; and equitable forum for producers and consumers with nationalities touching every area of the globe. For several decades; Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) has been in place to address claims brought by foreign investors against the host states. External improvements have helped support foreign direct investment and the ISDS model of dispute resolution; such as …