The main issue related to enforcement of an arbitral award against a State in the United States is the State’s sovereign immunity. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), foreign sovereigns enjoy immunity from jurisdiction, a presumptive immunity from suit in U.S. federal and state courts, and immunity from execution, whereby their property is immune […]
United States Arbitration
Intra-EU Arbitrations and the Enforcement of ICSID Awards in the United States: the Impact of Achmea
The ICSID Convention requires signatories to treat arbitral awards rendered according to the ICSID framework as if they were a final judgment of a court in that State.[1] To challenge an award, the claimant shall seek review within the ICSID arbitral regime, rather than before State courts.[2] To implement the Convention, the U.S. Congress in […]
Economic Sanctions in International Arbitration
Issues concerning economic sanctions in international arbitration frequently arise. Economic sanctions are a commonly-used tool of foreign policy which can have a significant impact on the performance of parties’ contractual rights and obligations. While there are many ways in which economic sanctions may interfere with international arbitration, we will focus on the issue of the […]
Aceris Achieves American Clients’ Objectives in ICDR Arbitration
Aceris Law has again achieved the outcome sought by its clients, this time in an ICDR arbitration between European claimants and Aceris’ American clients. The ICDR arbitration, initiated by European claimants represented by a large corporate firm, were brought against Aceris’ clients and concerned claims of fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud in the inducement, negligent misrepresentation and unjust […]
Aceris Successfully Resolves ICDR Arbitration for Canadian Respondent
Aceris Law has assisted another Canadian client in obtaining the successful resolution of an ICDR arbitration brought against it. The ICDR arbitration, initiated by a Fortune 500 American electronic commerce company against the Canadian respondent, concerned alleged illegal acts under U.S. federal law, alleged violations of Washington State law and claims of breach of contract. Following […]
Arbitral Tribunals and Discovery of Evidence in the US
Introduction This blog focuses on a developing yet difficult legal question: what is the relationship between US courts and assisting international arbitral tribunals in obtaining evidence through discovery procedures? In building evidence to support a case, one may consider making a request for discovery in local US courts, if applicable. This can be done under […]
The Seat of Arbitration in International Commercial Arbitration
The seat of arbitration (also known as the place or locale) is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when drafting international arbitration clauses in a contract and is often confused with the venue of the arbitration, which is not the same thing. The choice of the seat of arbitration can have […]
GRAND RIVER ENTERPRISES FIVE NATIONS LTD. ET AL. V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Award of 12 January 2011
In this NAFTA case, Claimants included Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., a Canadian corporation involved in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products, Messrs. Jerry Montour and Kenneth Hill (Canadian nationals) and Mr. Arthur Montour, Jr., of Seneca Nations Territory, Perrysburg, New York. The Claimants filed arbitration claims against several States of the USA […]
BG GROUP PLC. V. REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA – CASE NO. U.S. 12-138 (2014) – U.S. SUPREME COURT
In this dispute, the Claimant was part of a consortium owning majority shares in MetroGas, for the distribution of natural gas in Buenos Aires. Before the 2001 financial crisis, Argentinean law provided that gas tariffs were calculated in US dollars for profitable returns. However, the crisis led to emergency measures, one of which implemented a […]
