Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

The (Non-) Protection Of Indigenous Rights In Isds, Dr. Kevin W. Gray

Pace International Law Review

International investment law largely flows from the protections afforded foreign investors under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties.  Until recently, few of these treaties required investors to comply with human rights provisions in national constitutions or in international law, or preserved the ability of states to regulate to protect constitutional rights.  As a result, critics have argued, investor-state dispute settlement fails to protect human rights or preserve the ability of states to regulate in the public interest, and that arbitral awards rarely consider, let alone give effect to, rules of human rights.

This article considers the question of how Indigenous rights, …

The Mysterious Federal Policy In Favor Of Arbitration: Festschrifts Squared, Robert H. Smit

Faculty Scholarship

As far as I can tell, John Fellas and I think alike on most things, both as practicing international arbitrators and as professors of international arbitration law. As arbitrators in practice, all of the awards we have rendered together — whether John chaired, I chaired or we both served as party-appointed arbitrators — were unanimous awards. As professors in academics, we both independently submitted essays — on the occasion of a festschrift in honor of Professor George Bermann — addressing related issues concerning the federal policy in favor of arbitration in the United States. John’s festschrift essay is entitled “ …

The Supreme Court's Policy Favoring Arbitration And Its Limits, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

While the federal policy favoring arbitration is codified in the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the strength of that policy depends on the treatment that arbitration receives in federal courts and in the United States Supreme Court in particular.

Courts in all jurisdictions play an important role in fashioning the treatment of arbitration agreements, arbitral proceedings and arbitral awards. However, the judicial role in this regard is especially pronounced in the United States, in view of the problematic state of legislation on the subject. The federal legislation on arbitration is 100 years old and has never been meaningfully amended. The …

Corruption's Challenge To Arbitral Legitimacy, Margaret L. Moses

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The widespread growth of corruption in international business transactions has created a crisis of legitimacy for international arbitration. Because international contracts regularly provide for resolution of disputes by arbitration, the deep-rooted presence of fraud, bribery, money laundering and other illicit activity raises challenges to arbitrators about their proper role in resolving disputes tainted by corruption. In cases of corruption, parties may refrain from presenting facts and evidence that reveal their deceptive practices. Arbitrators need to be more interventionist in these kinds of cases than they have been in traditional arbitration practice. Following the Introduction in Part I, Part II of …

International Arbitration And Conflicts Of Law: Three Hard Questions For Symeon, Peter B. Rutledge

Scholarly Works

The presence of a foreign element in a legal relationship inevitably introduces intricate choice-of-law issues. This postulate holds especially true in the context of international arbitration. Arbitration involves an exceptional degree of procedural freedom (including over the choice of the applicable law) and a distinctive conflict-of-laws regime that may be unbound from a particular national legal system. This article examines several choice-of-law issues arising in the context of international arbitration. In particular, Section I of this article addresses whether the United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, otherwise known as the New York Convention, is selfexecuting …

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 …

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 …

International Arbitration Of Sep Frand Royalties, Steven Pepe, Samuel Brenner, Michael Morales

Touro Law Review

Standard-essential patent royalty disputes have typically been litigated in U.S. federal district courts, but patent owners have recently started to file suit in courts across the globe, leading to issues of comity, anti-suit injunctions, and increased litigation costs. International arbitration provides a unique forum for parties to litigate these royalty disputes and avoid, or at least lessen the burden, of these issues. This Article explores the advantages and disadvantages of using international arbitration to resolve standard-essential patent royalty disputes.

Reforming World Bank Dispute Resolution: Icsid In Context, Susan Franck

Michigan Journal of International Law

During a tumultuous moment in history with shifts in power and politics, international dispute settlement stands at a crossroads. In theory, international dispute settlement should not institutionalize abuses of power, rely upon a monolithic one-size-fits-all model, or be a waste of resources, which will inevitably generate stakeholder dissatisfaction. Rather, dispute resolution should reflect both a commitment to the rule of law and equal treatment that sustains nuanced, fair, and just procedures most likely to provide results of substantive quality. Against this backdrop and with the major reforms concluded in July 2022, this article explores the reality of dispute resolution at …

Pipeline Coordination: The Importance Of Properly Defining An Arbitral Tribunal’S Authority In Gas Price Review Arbitration, Aikaterini (Katerina) Karamousalidou

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Unprecedented events in international gas commerce have significantly increased gas pricing disputes. International arbitration, as a neutral and binding process, offers a plethora of advantages to international players of the energy industry who are interested in resolving their disputes in an efficient way. However, gas price review is extremely complex. In particular, a gas price review clause is what delineates an arbitrator’s mandate and hence, arbitrators must be prudent to pay careful attention to act within the boundaries of their authority. Failure to do so may result in the award being set aside. This paper addresses: (1) the determination of …

Anticipatory Deference: What Will Courts Decide And Not Decide Before Enforcing An Agreement To Arbitrate?, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

The question of deference in international arbitration usually arises when the issue before a decision-maker, be it a tribunal or a court, is one that has already been addressed and ruled upon by another decision-maker over an arbitration’s life-cycle. The salience of this question stems from the fact that international arbitration is a highly iterative and staged process over the course of which different actors are successively confronted with the same issue. This is particularly the case in regard to jurisdictional issues because the authority of a tribunal to entertain a dispute is potentially an issue at all stages.

But …

Res Judicata In International Arbitration, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

Res judicata, or claim preclusion, is no less important a matter in international arbitration than in national court litigation. Nothing less than the finality of an adjudication is at stake. In principle, a tribunal should decline to adjudicate a dispute if it has already been adjudicated either in a prior judgment or award. Apart from all the disadvantages of duplicative proceedings, a tribunal’s failure to treat a prior adjudication as preclusive made lead to set aside of its award. Even if an adjudication is final and binding, or in the case of an award entitled to recognition, certain so-called “identities” …

The Relevance Of The Cisg In Settling International Arbitration Claims Arising Due To Covid-19 In Absence Of Force Majeure And Hardship Clauses, Gilberto Guerrero-Rocca

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Cjeu And The Introduction Of International Dispute Settlement Mechanisms Within The Eu: Is Alternative Dispute Resolution In The Eu In Safe Hands?, Tasnim Ahmed

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article draws upon the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the role of the international dispute settlement mechanisms operating within the EU legal order. The Court has resisted the introduction of such dispute settlement mechanisms, referring to Articles 267 and 344 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as justifications for its ‘judicial monopoly’. The Achmea case in particular allows the Court to declare these dispute settlement mechanisms contrary to EU law. However, with the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) Opinion, the Court itself has permitted the CETA Investment …

Playing The Game Of International Law, Uri Weiss, Joseph Agassi

Touro Law Review

In the realist game of international negotiations, each state attempts to promote their interest regardless of international law. Thus, it is negotiations in the shadow of the sword, i.e., a negotiation in which each side knows that if the parties will not achieve an agreement, the alternative may be a war, and thus the bargaining position of each party is a function of their capacities in a case of war. Negotiation in the shadow of international law is an alternative to it: in this alternative the parties negotiate according to their international legal rights. It reduces injustice and incentive to …

Digital Readiness Index For Arbitration Institutions: Challenges And Implications For Dispute Resolution Under The Belt And Road Initiative, Allison Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Post-COVID-19, a paradigm shift has occurred in the adoption of technology in arbitration. Leading arbitral institutions have adapted quickly, highlighting the foresight of institutions who have existing technological infrastructure in place. This article proposes a ‘Digital Readiness Index’, which aims to evaluate arbitral institutions on their level of digital readiness based on five evaluative indicators. Cross referenced against Institute for Management Development (IMD’s) 2019 World Digital Competitiveness Rankings, the findings reveal synergies between an economy’s digital competitiveness and the adoption of technology in dispute resolution. To further the development of dispute resolution processes under the Belt and Road Initiative, strategic …

Disclosure Of Third-Party Funding In International Arbitration, Victoria Sahani

Faculty Scholarship

Third-party funding has evolved into a ubiquitous “feature of modern litigation” that in some jurisdictions is “an accepted and judicially sanctioned activity perceived to be in the public interest.”529 Similarly, third-party funding has become even more prevalent in international arbitration, particularly considering the high dollar amount of most arbitral awards. In addition, several major arbitration seats have officially embraced third-party funding in international arbitration through legislation or court opinions, including Australia, England, and Wales, most of the states in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, several provinces in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Nigeria (indirectly).530 Furthermore, there are …

Costs Allocation In International Arbitration: What Normative Source, If Any?, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

Costs in arbitration is one of those many issues that arises constantly (at least in any arbitration that gets underway), but as to which there is by no means any universally accepted standard of judgment. It is also not particularly usual for parties to address the issue of costs directly in their arbitration agreement, or for the matter to be addressed in the law of arbitration of the seat. If the rules of arbitral procedure that the parties may have incorporated into their arbitration agreement address the matter, they may not do so in highly informative terms. The Rules of …

A Hardy Case Makes Bad Law, Victoria Sahani

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is the first ever to analyze a direct clash between the inherent power of US courts regarding the enforcement ofjudgments and the obligations of the United States as one of the 163 member countries of the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, commonly known as the "ICSID Convention. " The ICSID Convention includes a self-enforcement mechanism whereby the courts of the member countries are obligated to enforce the pecuniary obligations in multimillion (and sometimes over one billion) dollar ICSID arbitration awards as though they were court judgments of the …

The Challenges Of Water Governance (And Privatization) In China; Normative Traps, Gaps, And Prospects, Xu Qian

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Process & Industrial Developments Limited V. Nigeria: Exception Under The Fsia When Award Has Been Set Aside By A Court Of The Country “Under The Law Of Which” The Award Was Made, Ndifreke Uwem

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

In March 2018, Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) filed a petition at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to confirm an arbitral award against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The proceedings were conducted in three phases – jurisdictional, liability, and damages. The arbitration provision in the underlying contract hardly represented a model of clarity. It provided for the application of the Nigerian arbitration act to any dispute between the parties. On the other hand, it specified London as the “venue” of the proceedings. This posed a problem as to whether Nigeria was the juridical seat …

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 …

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, …

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.

A Conversation With Professor William W. (Rusty) Park, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

ABBY COHEN SMUTNY*: The ITA’s Academic Council has an interesting and very useful project, which is called Preserving Perspectives. It is a project to interview leading arbitrators regarding the development and evolution of international arbitration. This has led to a series of wonderful videos that are posted on ITA’s website. These videos are a tremendously rich resource and I encourage you to check them out on ITA’s website.

I’m now delighted to introduce to you the next interview in this important series. Professor and member of our academic council Catherine Rogers will be interviewing Professor Rusty Park, and …

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.

Bg Group V. Argentina: A Reiteration Of Undesired Complexity For A Simple Principle: Kompetenz-Kompetenz Under The Faa And The Uncitral Model Law, Ndifreke Uwem

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.