LAW 888: International Commercial Arbitration Short Course
This one-credit short course will consider the law and strategic decisions underpinning international commercial arbitration. It will begin by considering arbitration as one “form” of dispute resolution and the reasons why parties (or at least the party in the dominant bargaining position) might favor that form. It then will turn to the issues governing the enforcement of international arbitration agreements, focusing both on the standards under the New York Convention and the subtlely different standards under the Federal Arbitration Act. The course then focuses on arbitral procedure, placing particular emphasis on the choice of arbitrators, the arbitral forum and discovery (focusing on the extent to which default rules as opposed to mandatory rules govern these issues). Finally, the course will conclude with a survey of the law governing the vacatur, recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards. Picking up on the contract vs. regulation themes that permeate the agreement and procedure discussion, the course will study closely the US Supreme Court’s very recent decision in Hall Street v. Mattel. [1]
