The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) applies to interstate and international arbitrations in the United States, and it defines the limits of an arbitrator’s power to order non-party discovery. See 9 U.S.C. §§ 2 (directing U.S. courts to enforce arbitration agreements in “any maritime transaction or a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce”) & 7 (related…
The mechanism for referring questions regarding a preliminary ruling allows the national judge to ask the ECJ for a clarification on a point of EC law. Art 234 EC Treaty, governing preliminary rulings before the ECJ, applies to national courts or tribunals ruling as courts of final appeal and it does not open up directly…
On October 9, 2008, the Paris Court of Appeal rendered two decisions confirming the importance of estoppel in international arbitration. See Merial SAS v. Klocke Verpackungs – Service GmbH, October 9, 2008, Case no. 07-06619; Marocaine des Loisirs v. France Quick SAS, October 9, 2008, Case no. 07-14539.
To enhance predictability when litigating disputes arising out of international business transactions, the U.S. signed the June 30, 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Convention”) on January 19, 2009. In the U.S., such clauses are typically referred to as forum selection clauses, which are almost always included in contracts arising out of…
Rex has recently installed himself as the benevolent dictator of a resource-rich country where many live in poverty. He took power from a government he accuses of having distributed national wealth in a grossly unfair manner. He proclaims a policy of redistributive justice, and enjoys passionate popularity among the vast disadvantaged segments of the population….
The European Court of Justice issued its eagerly awaited judgment in the so-called West Tankers or Front Comor case on 10 February 2009. To many in the arbitration community, especially those based in London, it will come as a disappointing, if not altogether surprising, conclusion of a lengthy legal saga, which began over eight years…
Parties involved in foreign litigation have a powerful U.S. discovery tool at their disposal in 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a). Section 1782(a) provides that a federal district court “may order” a person “resid[ing] or found” in the district to give testimony or produce documents “for use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal…” Accordingly,…
