Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

Multilateral Environmental Agreements In The Wto: Silence Speaks Volumes, Henrik Horn, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

This study contributes to the debate concerning the appropriate role of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in in WTO dispute settlement. Its distinguishing feature is that it seeks to address this relationship in light of the reason why the parties have chosen to separate their obligations into two bodies of law without providing an explicit nexus between them. The basic conclusion is that legislators’ silence concerning this relationship should speak volumes to WTO adjudicating bodies: MEAs should not be automatically understood as imposing legally binding obligations on WTO Members, but could be used as sources of factual information.

Recent Developments In Third-Party Funding, Victoria Sahani

Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses recent developments in third-party funding that occurred during late 2012 and early 2013 in the three leading jurisdictions: Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The most important developments are the following. On 22 April 2013, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) issued regulatory guidelines clarifying the status of funders with respect to ASIC’s regulations and detailing how funders should manage conflicts of interest and handle certain provisions of their funding arrangements. In the United Kingdom, the Jackson Reforms took effect on 1 April 2013, bringing sweeping changes to the allowable fee agreements, discovery rules …

The Restatement Of The U.S. Law Of International Commercial Arbitration: An Interim Report, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

Despite its title, the American Law Institute's Restatement (Third) of the U.S. Law of International Arbitration is the ALI's first Restatement ever on the subject of international commercial arbitration. The ALI commissioned this Restatement not merely because the subject has become so important in international commerce, but because the American law on the subject is deeply unsettled. After all, the purpose of Restatements is to bring clarity and coherence and, where necessary, improvement to the law. Historically, Restatements have concentrated on state rather than federal law subjects precisely because of the discrepancies among the laws of the several states on …

In The Shadow Of The Dsu: Addressing Specific Trade Concerns In The Wto Sps And Tbt Committees, Henrik Horn, Petros C. Mavroidis, Erik Wijkström

Faculty Scholarship

The paper argues that focusing only on disputes formally raised in the WTO Dispute Settlement system underestimates the extent of trade conflict resolution within the WTO. Both the SPS and TBT Committees address a significant number of ‘specific trade concerns’ (STCs) that in the overwhelming majority of cases do not become formal disputes. The STCs address differences between Members concerning the conformity of national measures in the SPS and TBT areas with these agreements. It appears as if Committee work on STCs significantly helps defuse potential trade frictions concerning national policies in the covered areas.

Enforcement Of Icsid Awards In The People's Republic Of China, Julian G. Ku

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The People’s Republic of China is one of the most enthusiastic signatories of bilateral investment treaties that grant mandatory jurisdiction to the ICSID investment arbitration system. This essay considers the PRC’s domestic laws affecting the fulfillment of its ICSID Convention obligations to recognize and enforce ICSID awards. It notes that the PRC has failed to enact any specific legislation to comply with the ICSID Convention’s recognition and enforcement obligations, making its compliance with these obligations uncertain. It concludes that the only way that the PRC could claim to have fulfilled its treaty obligations is to declare that the ICSID Convention …

A Presumptively Better Approach To Arbitrability, John A. E. Pottow, Jacob Brege, Tara J. Hawley

Articles

One of the most complex problems in the arbitration field is the question of who decides disputes over the scope of an arbitrator's purported authority. Courts in Canada and the United States have taken different approaches to this fundamental question of "arbitrability" that necessarily arises when one party disputes the contractual validity of the underlying "container" contract carrying the arbitration clause. If arbitration is a creature of contract, and contract is a product of consensual agreement, then any dispute that impugns the underlying consent of the parties to the container contract implicates the arbitration agreement itself (i.e., no contract, no …

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

Guidelines For Child Protection Mediation, Kelly Browe Olson Co-Editor

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cross-Border Insolvency Problems: Is The Uncitral Model Law The Answer?, S. Chandra Mohan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines the impact that the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-border Insolvency has had on States in the light of the central problems often associated with transnational insolvencies. Despite the accolades that it has received, the Model Law has been adopted in only 19 countries in the last 15 years and that too in many different ways. If the number of adoptees and the rather conditional acceptance of the Model Law’s provisions represent a lack of international enthusiasm for adopting the Model Law, what are the reasons for this? The paper concludes by asking whether the UNCITRAL Model Law …

The New Hong Kong Mediation Ordinance: Much Ado About Nothing?, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the purpose of the Mediation Ordinance (MO) passed in June 2012 by the Hong Kong Legislative Council is discussed.

Killing Them With Kindness: Examining "Consumer-Friendly" Arbitration Clauses After At&T; Mobility V. Concepcion, Myriam E. Gilles

Articles

The article focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court case AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, in which California's "Discover Bank rule" was struck by the Court under the Federal Arbitration Act, which was upheld by the California Supreme Court in the court case Discover Bank v. Superior Court. It provides information that the rule is a judge-made rule which depicts that class action waivers are unforceable in arbitration agreements if such agreements are mentioned in standard form consumer contracts.

Prospects For Satisfactory Dispute Resolution Of Private Commercial Disputes Under The North American Free Trade Agreement, Jonathan I. Miller

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contracting Employment Disputes Out Of The Jury System: An Analysis Of The Implementation Of Binding Arbitration In The Non-Union Workplace And Proposals To Reduce The Harsh Effects Of A Non-Appealable Award, Michele M. Buse

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mlb Calendar 2012-2013, Edmund P. Edmonds

MLB Calendars

No abstract provided.

The Arbitration Fairness Act: It Need Not And Should Not Be An All Or Nothing Proposition, Martin H. Malin

All Faculty Scholarship

The proposed Arbitration Fairness Act (AFA) would prohibit all pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate in employment, consumer and franchise contracts. Although changes in the ideological composition of Congress mean that the AFA has little chance of enactment in the foreseeable future, mini-AFAs have been enacted banning pre-dispute arbitration agreements as applied to sexual harassment claims by employees of defense contractors and whistleblower claims by employees in the securities and commodities industries. This article charts a middle ground between those who would ban pre-dispute arbitration mandates in employment contracts completely and those who would leave them unregulated. After surveying the empirical evidence …

Customizing Employment Arbitration, Erin O'Hara O'Connor, Kenneth J. Martin, Randall S. Thomas

Scholarly Publications

According to the dispute resolution literature, one advantage of arbitration over litigation is that arbitration enables the parties to customize their dispute-resolution procedures. For example, parties can choose the qualifications of the arbitrator(s), the governing procedural rules, the limitation period, recoverable damages, rules for discovery and the presentation of evidence and witnesses, and the specificity of required arbitrator findings. While some scholars have questioned whether parties to arbitration agreements frequently take advantage of this customization, there is little solid empirical information about the topic.

In this Article, we study the arbitration clauses found in a random sample of 910 Chief …

The 2012 Us Model Bit And What The Changes (Or Lack Thereof) Suggest About Future Investment Treaties, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In April of this year the US State Department released a new version of its model bilateral investment treaty (BIT). This text, like the various models the US has used over roughly the past 3 decades, represents the US’s basic policy position when it starts negotiations on investment treaties with other countries, and is therefore an important benchmark for the outcome US investors might hope for as a result of ongoing and potential future talks with countries such as China, Russia, and India. Overall, this new model text follows the approach taken by the US in its investment treaties over …

67. International Investment Arbitration: Winning, Losing And Why, Susan Franck, Karl P. Sauvant, Jennifer Reimer, Todd Allee, Ilan Alon, Alice H. Amsden, Tadahiro Asami, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Paul Barbour, Christian Bellak, Axel Berger, Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Subrata Bhattacharjee, Harry G. Broadman, Elizabeth Broomfield, Gert Bruche, Matthias Busse, John A. Cantwell, Aleh Cherp, Lorenzo Cotula, Nandita Dasgupta, Kenneth Davies, Alexandre De Gramont, Armand Claude De Mestral, Kabir Duggal, Persephone Economou, John Evans, David N. Fagan, Mark Feldman, Hermann Ferré, Daniel M. Firger, Veljko Fotak, Kevin P. Gallagher, Nilgun Gokgur, Kathryn Gordon, Jose Guimon, Thilo Hanemann, Torfinn Harding, Jean-François Hennart, Seev Hirsch, Wing (Xiaoying) Huo, Beata Smarzynska Javorcik, Nathan M. Jensen, Lise Johnson, Thomas Jost, George Kahale Iii, Kalman Kalotay, Laza Kekic, John M. Kline, Charles Kovacs, Jürgen Kurtz, Jo En Low, Miguel PéRez LudeñA, Edmund J. Malesky, Geraldine Mcallister, William L. Megginson, Sophie Meunier, Michael Mortimore, Joel Moser, Michael D. Nolan, Peter Nunnenkamp, Terutomo Ozawa, Clint Peinhardt, Nicolás M. Perrone, Luke Eric Peterson, Mark Plotkin, Joachim Pohl, Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen, Carlos Razo, Daniel Rosen, Martin Roy, Giorgio Sacerdoti, Premila Nazareth Satyanand, Manfred Schekulin, Stephan W. Schill, Francisco Colman Sercovich, Arjen Hl Slangen, Roger Smeets, Hans Smit, M. Sornarajah, Frederic G. Sourgens, Jonathan Strauss, Kenneth P. Thomas, Margo Thomas, Perrine Toledano, Julien Topal, Anne Van Aaken, Gus Van Harten, Daniel Villar, Sandy Walker, Mira Wilkins, Jason W. Yackee, Chen Zhao

Contributions to Books

This second edition of this publication provides an overview of important contemporary issues relating to foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational enterprises for all those who are interested in this subject, but are not always in a position to follow diverse perspectives and what is being written in the various corners of this field. The contributions are grouped under the following headings: attracting FDI and its impact; the rise of emerging market investors; national policies; sustainable international investment; and international investment treaties and arbitration. The volume brings together all Perspectives published since the inception of this series until 2012.

Recourse Against An International Arbitration Award Made In Singapore, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Astro Nusantara International BV v PT Ayunda Prima Mitra [2012] SGHC 212, the Singapore High Court set out the available recourse against an international arbitration award made in Singapore. This case has significant implications for Singapore as a seat of arbitration, and this note contrasts the position between Singapore and Hong Kong against the backdrop of this case. In October 2008, after a failed joint venture, the Claimants, which belonged to the Astro group of companies of Malaysia, commenced arbitration in Singapore against the Respondents, which belonged to the Lippo group of companies of Indonesia. In May 2009, the …

"Riding With The Cops And Cheering For The Robbers:" Employee Speech, Doctrinal Cubbyholes, And The Duty Of Loyalty, Marvin F. Hill Jr., James A. Wright

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.