Successful State counterclaims in investor-State arbitration were found on 7 February 2017. The counterclaims were brought by Ecuador in response to claims by Burlington Resources Inc, a U.S.-based foreign investor. In its counterclaims, Ecuador alleged breach of its national environmental law by Burlington Resources and breach of contractual obligations and sought USD 2.8 billion in […]
Choice of Law in International Commercial Arbitration
One perk of international arbitration is the possibility to avoid choice-of-law complexities that inevitably arise in an international dispute, although choice of law in international commercial arbitration can pose an issue. There are four different choice-of-law issues in international arbitration that arise: Determination of the substantive law applicable to the merits of the case Determination […]
Arbitration in the United States
Arbitration in the United States is well developed. The reason is simple. A large number of corporations involved in international arbitration are US companies. Although some criticisms have been made regarding the US legal system, such as with respect to its jury trials, or concerning punitive damages, and arbitration agreements were unenforceable under US law […]
International Arbitration Conventions
International arbitration is governed by both the parties’ private agreement but also by a number of international arbitration conventions that apply independently of the parties’ agreements. Those conventions and treaties’ main goal is to promote international arbitration and help to enforce arbitration awards, such as the 1923 Geneva Protocol and the 1927 Geneva Convention. These […]
Validity of Appellate Arbitration Clauses
The validity of appellate arbitration clauses has been upheld in India. In some arbitration clauses, parties may elect to resort to appellate arbitration clauses that provide for an appellate mechanism with respect to an award in order to correct errors. While prolonging the duration of arbitration, these clauses are sometimes desired as arbitral awards cannot […]