International Contracts And National Economic Regulationdispute Resolution Through International Commercial Arbitration

The growth of national economic regulation and the process of globalisation increasingly expose international transactions to an array of regulations from different jurisdictions. These developments often contribute to widespread international contractual failures when parties claim the incompatibility of their contractual obligations with regulatory laws. The author challenges conventional means of dispute resolution and argues for an interdisciplinary approach whereby disciplines such as international economic law, conflict of laws, contract law and economic regulations are functionally united to resolve international and multifaceted regulatory disputes. He identifies the normative foundation of contract law as an important determinant in this process, contending that contract law is essentially neutral and underpinned by the concept of corrective justice, while economic regulations are mainly prompted by distributive justice. Applying this corrective/distributive justice dichotomy to international contracts, the author critically assesses major conflict of laws approaches such as `proper law', `the Rome Convention' and `governmental interest analysis', which could disregard either public interest or private rights. The author, taking these theories into account, proposes an alternative two-dimensional interest analysis approach. He tests the viability of this approach with reference to arbitral awards and court decisions in various jurisdictions and concludes that it uniquely fits into the structure of international commercial arbitration. In adopting this approach arbitrators would take into account both corrective and distributive justice, and to the extent that corrective justice prevails, would be able to avert a total failure of the contract.

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.

The growth of national economic regulation and the process of globalisation increasingly expose international transactions to an array of regulations from different jurisdictions. These developments often contribute to widespread international contractual failures when parties claim the incompatibility of their contractual obligations with regulatory laws. The author challenges conventional means of dispute resolution and argues for an interdisciplinary approach whereby disciplines such as international economic law, conflict of laws, contract law and economic regulations are functionally united to resolve international and multifaceted regulatory disputes. He identifies the normative foundation of contract law as an important determinant in this process, contending that contract law is essentially neutral and underpinned by the concept of corrective justice, while economic regulations are mainly prompted by distributive justice. Applying this corrective/distributive justice dichotomy to international contracts, the author critically assesses major conflict of laws approaches such as `proper law', `the Rome Convention' and `governmental interest analysis', which could disregard either public interest or private rights. The author, taking these theories into account, proposes an alternative two-dimensional interest analysis approach. He tests the viability of this approach with reference to arbitral awards and court decisions in various jurisdictions and concludes that it uniquely fits into the structure of international commercial arbitration. In adopting this approach arbitrators would take into account both corrective and distributive justice, and to the extent that corrective justice prevails, would be able to avert a total failure of the contract.

Arbitration is the normal and preferred mode for resolving international commercial disputes. It presents an essential advantage over national courts by offering neutrality of adjudication, but is currently only available where both parties have consented to it. This innovative book proposes a fundamental rethink of this assumption and argues that arbitration should become the default mode of resolution in international commercial disputes.

International Commercial Arbitration contains detailed commentary, case analyses, and practice pointers. Full annotations and footnotes provide invaluable research assistance, while clearly-written analyses identify and discuss critical issues. Representative international arbitral awards and national court decisions are excerpted, and detailed reference is made to leading institutional rules. Detailed appendices, an easy-to-use Table of Contents, and an extensive index to aid research and provide ready access to key materials. Co-publication with Kluwer Law International. North American sales rights only. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint. For class adoption a student edition is available for

Energy projects in Latin America are a major contributor to economic growth worldwide. This book is the first to offer a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of specific issues arising from energy and natural resources contracts and disputes in the region, covering a wide range of procedural, substantive, and socio-legal issues. The book also includes how states have shifted from passive business partners to more active controlling players. The book contains an extensive treatment and examination of the particularities of arbitration practice in Latin America, including arbitrability, public order, enforcement, and the complex public-private nature of energy transactions. Specialists experienced in resolving international energy and natural disputes throughout the region provide detailed analysis of such issues and topics, including: state-owned entities as co-investors or contracting parties; role of environmental law, indigenous rights and public participation; issues related to political changes, corruption, and quantification of damages; climate change, renewable energy, and the energy transition; force majeure, hardship, and price reopeners; arbitration in the electricity sector; take-or-pay contracts; recognition and enforcement of awards; tension between stabilization clauses and human rights; mediation as a method for dispute settlement in the energy and natural resources sector; and different comparative approaches taken by national courts in key Latin American jurisdictions. The book also delivers a clear explanation on the impact made to the arbitration process by Covid-19, emerging laws, changes of political circumstances, the economic global trends in the oil & gas market, the energy transition, and the rise of new technologies. This invaluable book will be welcomed by in-house lawyers, government officials, as well as academics and rest of the arbitration community involved in international arbitration with particular interest in the energy and natural resources sector.

The Brussels I Regulation, which ensures the free circulation of judgments within the EU, was recently revised; one of the main issues addressed was whether the Regulation affects the efficient resolution of international commercial disputes through arbitration within the Union. This book provides an in depth examination of the interface between the Regulation and international commercial arbitration. The author demonstrates that the consequences of this interface can encourage the use of delaying tactics, hampering the efficient resolution of international disputes.

Numerous developments across the world in recent years bear witness to States’ increasing skepticism about the benefits of international cooperation and the efficiency of international economic law understood as a multilateral set of rules equally binding on all States. This timely book reviews situations where this new economic nationalism may impact the way arbitration—in both commercial and investment disputes—is practiced. Distinguished international arbitrators and academic experts analyze a wide array of topics, covering a broad spectrum of juristic traditions, geographic areas, foreign investment protection laws, and dispute resolution mechanisms and issues. Topics covered include the following: evolution of the definitions of arbitrable standards; amendments to procedural rules; States’ policy choices as reflected in recent investment treaties; procedural trends to restrict access to investment arbitration; the effects of the Achmea decision in the European Union; growing use of the public policy exception; dispute settlement of public-private partnership agreements; and diversification of dispute resolution methods (e.g., business courts). An important feature of the book is the ability it offers to compare various contemporary transformations of dispute settlement mechanisms, with attention to developments in a number of jurisdictions including the United States, the European Union, China, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Latin American countries. With its comprehensive analysis of how economic nationalism may lead to limiting the jurisdictional, procedural, and substantive scope of arbitration, the authors underscore the crucial importance of a robust system of international arbitration of economic disputes to ensure a stable and secure world order. The global coverage of the contributions and the insightful views offered in them speak eloquently about their usefulness and outreach for arbitration practitioners and scholars, as well as for professionals involved in drafting policies for economic development or in the negotiation of investment agreements.

Increased economic interdependencies and trade flows between states, innovations in information technology and computer networks, a global shift toward market economies and regional and multilateral trade arrangements, have all led to an increasingly globalized world economy. The Forces of Economic Globalization: Challenges to the Regime of International Commercial Arbitration examines some of the challenges facing the regime of international commercial arbitration in the contemporary global economy. It considers the debates concerning the transformation of the global order and the role of nation states within the context of international commercial arbitration. Issues discussed include the transformative effect of economic globalization, the role of the epistemic community and the increased institutionalization within the international arbitral regime, the nationalization of international commercial arbitration and the denationalization and harmonization trends, the competitive nature of legislative reform, convergence and divergence in the international arbitral process, multilateralism and regionalism, market modernization and transnationalism, globalization and lex mercatoria, and the development of online arbitration schemes in cyberspace. This book seeks to analyze the inner penetration of a form of world polity or transnational order ? comprised of part epistemic community, institutional networks, national laws and multilateral conventions, norms, rules, principles and transnational ideology ? on the traditional notion of state sovereignty within the international arbitral regime. The book will interest practitioners and academics with an interest in international commercial arbitration.