International Arbitration And International Commercial Law

Over the last half-century, as UNCITRAL official, professor, arbitrator and father of the Willem C. Vis Arbitration Moot, Eric Bergsten has been at the forefront of progress in international commercial arbitration. Now, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, the international arbitration and sales law community has gathered to honour him with this substantial collection of new essays on the many facets of the field to which he continues to bring his intellect, integrity, inquisitive nature, eye for detail, precision, and commitment to public service. Celebrating the long-standing and sustained contribution Eric Bergsten has made in international commercial law, international arbitration, and legal education, more than fifty colleagues - among them quite a few of the best-known arbitrators and arbitration academics in the world - present 45 pieces that, individually both engaging and incisive, collectively present a thorough and far-reaching account of the state of the field today, with contributions covering international sales law, commercial law, commercial arbitration, and investment arbitration. In addition, nine essays on issues in legal education mirror the great importance of the renowned Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Eric's Vienna project which has offered a life-changing experience for so many young lawyers from all over the world.

This treatise describes the practice of international commercial arbitration with reference to the major international treaties and instruments, arbitration rules and national laws. It provides an analysis of the interaction between party autonomy and arbitration practice.

This indispensable book offers a concise comparative introduction to international commercial arbitration (ICA). With reference to recent case law from leading jurisdictions and up-to-date rules revisions, International Commercial Arbitration offers a thorough overview of the issues raised in arbitration, from the time of drafting of the arbitration clause to the rendering of the arbitral award and the post-award stage.

This title provides the reader with immediate access to understanding the world of international arbitration. Arbitration has become the dispute resolution method of choice in international transactions. This book explains how and why arbitration works. It provides the legal and regulatory framework for international arbitration, as well as practical strategies to follow and pitfalls to avoid. It is short and readable, but comprehensive in its coverage of the basic requirements, including changes in arbitration laws, rules, and guidelines. In the book, the author includes insights from numerous international arbitrators and counsel, who tell firsthand about their own experiences of arbitration and their views of the best arbitration practices. Throughout the book, the principles of arbitration are supported and explained by the practice, providing a concrete approach to an important means of resolving disputes.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

Over the last half-century, as UNCITRAL official, professor, arbitrator and father of the Willem C. Vis Arbitration Moot, Eric Bergsten has been at the forefront of progress in international commercial arbitration. Now, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, the international arbitration and sales law community has gathered to honour him with this substantial collection of new essays on the many facets of the field to which he continues to bring his intellect, integrity, inquisitive nature, eye for detail, precision, and commitment to public service. Celebrating the long-standing and sustained contribution Eric Bergsten has made in international commercial law, international arbitration, and legal education, more than fifty colleagues – among them quite a few of the best-known arbitrators and arbitration academics in the world – present 45 pieces that, individually both engaging and incisive, collectively present a thorough and far-reaching account of the state of the field today, with contributions covering international sales law, commercial law, commercial arbitration, and investment arbitration. In addition, nine essays on issues in legal education mirror the great importance of the renowned Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Eric’s Vienna project which has offered a life-changing experience for so many young lawyers from all over the world.

International arbitration of business disputes continues to rise dramatically. New people entering the international arbitration community on all continents require a systematic guide to avoid a mere trial-and-error approach. This book, first of its kind, with numerous practical examples of the drafting of documents for each step of an international arbitration proceeding, under different arbitration rules and in different countries, allows actual ready-to-adapt forms to be located quickly for any issue likely to arise and clearly illustrates the different drafting styles used in practice. In one volume, in a single place, scores of documents are provided, all originating from real cases. A brief sample includes inter aliathe following: • request for arbitration; • answer/counterclaim; • claimant’s reply to counterclaim; • terms of reference; • rules of procedure; • timetable for submissions; • procedural orders; • written pleadings/statement of claim/defence; • witness statements/depositions/affidavits; • requests/orders for the production of documents/discovery; • requests/orders on interim measures/security for costs; • hearings; • opening statement/closing statement; • submissions on costs; • awards/interim/partial/final/by consent; and • requests/decisions on correction and interpretation of awards. Explanatory comments on more complex forms help to raise the readers’ awareness on a specific issue or discussion. Emphasis throughout is on procedural aspects. No other book makes it so easy to find all the information necessary to prepare a case or take a decision in the context of international commercial arbitration. These forms will be of immeasurable value to corporate counsel, management in instructing outside counsel, practitioners dealing with international arbitration, lawyers, arbitrators, members’ organizations in industry and commerce, arbitration centres (especially newer ones in emerging markets), academic libraries and bar associations.

After neutrality and international enforcement, the next most valued feature of international commercial arbitration is confidentiality. For reasons easy to imagine, businessmen do not want their trade secrets, business plans, strategies, contracts, financial results or any other types of business information to be publicly accessible, as would commonly happen in court proceedings. Yet the case law of arbitration shows that in practical terms confidentiality is not to be taken for granted - in fact, it has become one of the most undetermined matters in international arbitration. Although 'the emperor of arbitration may have clothes, ' as one scholar has quipped, his raiments of secrecy can be 'torn with surprising ease'. This book deciphers the current degree of confidentiality in international commercial arbitration as reflected by the most important arbitration rules, national laws, other arbitration-related enactments, and practices of arbitral tribunals and domestic courts globally. Drawing on this data and analysis, the author then sets forth criteria to assess the breach of confidentiality in international arbitration and the proper rules for protecting or sanctioning such breaches. What do we understand by confidentiality in arbitration? What are its limitations? Who is bound to observe it? How can we quantify its breach? In addressing these questions, the book engages such issues as the following: reasons for disclosure - e.g., for the establishment of a defence, for the enforcement of rights, in the public interest or in the interests of justice disclosure by consent, express or implied; circumstances triggering statutory obligation of disclosure; recent trends towards greater transparency in investor-State arbitration; court measures in support of arbitral confidentiality such as award of damages for breach of confidentiality; and categories of persons bound by confidentiality, including third parties such as witnesses and experts. Structured along the main stages of the arbitral process, the analysis covers the duty of confidentiality from the initiation of arbitral proceedings through their unfolding to the issuance of the award and after. The scope of confidentiality is reviewed in the practice of arbitral tribunals and domestic courts, and from the perspective of international arbitration institutions, with detailed attention to various arbitration rules and numerous significant cases. In its elucidation of the amount of confidentiality that 'veils' each phase of the arbitral process, and its ground-breaking identification of 'patterns of disclosure', this book is sure to raise awareness about the various facets and problems posed by confidentiality in arbitration. Although its scholarly contribution to the law of international commercial arbitration cannot be gainsaid, corporate counsel worldwide will quickly prize its more practical value.

Arbitration and jurisdiction agreements are frequently used in transnational commercial contracts to reduce risk, gain efficacy and acquire certainty and predictability. Because of the similarities between these two types of procedural autonomy agreements, they are often treated in a similar way by courts and practitioners. This book offers a comprehensive study of the prerequisites, effectiveness, and enforcement of exclusive jurisdiction and arbitration agreements in international dispute resolution. It examines whether jurisdiction and arbitration clauses have identical effects in private international law and whether they have been or should be given the same treatment by most countries in the world. By comparing the treatment of these clauses in the US, China, UK and EU, Zheng Sophia Tang demonstrates how, in practice, exclusive jurisdiction and arbitration agreements are enforced. The book considers whether the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements could be treated as a litigating counterpart to the New York Convention, and whether it could work successfully to facilitate judicial cooperation and party autonomy in international commerce. This book breaks new ground in combining updated materials in EU, US and UK law with unique resources on Chinese law and practice. It will be valuable for academics and practitioners working in the field of private international law and international arbitration.

In the process of resolving disputes, it is not uncommon for parties to justify actions otherwise in breach of their obligations by invoking the need to protect some aspect of the elusive concept of public order. Until this thoroughly researched book, the criteria and factors against which international dispute bodies assess such claims have remained unclear. Now, by providing an in-depth comparative analysis of relevant jurisprudence under four distinct international dispute resolution systems – trade, investment, human rights and international commercial arbitration – the author of this invaluable book identifies common core benchmarks for the application of the public order exception. To achieve the broadest possible scope for her analysis, the author examines the public order exception’s function, role and application within the following international dispute resolution systems: relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements as enforced by the organization’s Dispute Settlement Body and Appellate Body; international investment agreements as enforced by competent Arbitral Tribunals and Annulment Committees under the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes; provisions under the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights as enforced by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, respectively; and the New York Convention as enforced by national tribunals across the world. Controversies, tensions and pitfalls inherent in invoking the public order exception are elucidated, along with clear guidelines on how arguments may be crafted in order to enhance prospects of success. Throughout, tables and graphs systematize key aspects of the relevant jurisprudence under each of the dispute resolution systems analysed. As an immediate practical resource for lawyers on any side of a dispute who wish to invoke or strengthen a public order exception claim, the book’s systematic analysis will be welcomed by lawyers active in WTO disputes, international investment arbitration, human rights law or enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Academics and policymakers will find a signal contribution to the ongoing debate on the existence, legal basis, content and functions of the transnational public order.