U.S. drug company Eli Lilly has escalated a $500-million patent dispute with the federal government and filed a notice of arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The company is demanding compensation for court decisions that invalidated its patents for Strattera, a treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and for Zyprexa, which is used for the […]
Choosing Arbitrators
It is sometimes argued that arbitration is only as good as the arbitrator, and that defects in international arbitration may be attributed to poor arbitrators. While this oversimplifies a complex issue, choosing the right arbitrator is one of the most critical steps in any arbitration. Unless a specific arbitrator is specified in the arbitration clause, […]
How Should An Engineer’s/Dispute Adjudication Board’s Decision Be Enforced?
A crucial legal issue in relation to international construction contracts over the past decade has concerned the manner in which decisions of the Engineer made under Clause 67 of the FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering Construction, fourth edition, 1987, and, since the Engineer was replaced by the Dispute Adjudication Board (“DAB”) in the 1999 edition of the FIDIC Conditions […]
Senegal Wins Arbitration Reflecting Rising Resource Nationalism In Africa
In a partial award, the arbitrators Elie Kleiman, Pierre Mayer, and Nicolas Molfessis ruled that a USD 2.2 billion deal it signed with ArcelorMittal could be terminated on the ground of a material breach by ArcelorMittal. ArcelorMittal’s counterclaim for the renegotiation of the contracts also failed. Senegal is now seeking USD 750 million in damages from […]
Why Investors Should Attempt To Negotiate Waivers Of Sovereign Immunity With Respect To Specific Assets Or Classes Of Assets
Although NML Ltd won an investment arbitration against Argentina many years ago, it has yet to succeed in enforcing its award against the country. The latest judicial decisions in NML Ltd’s attempts to enforce the award were rendered recently by the French Cour de Cassation, which elaborated on the French conception of sovereign immunity from […]