Recently, we have looked both at the current status of the Arbitration Fairness Act and the criticism surrounding the Act. These prior posts have illustrated a few helpful principles: the congress members introducing the Act and the issues it intends to remedy are domestic in nature, and the Act is concerned with its effect on existing law. Based on the remedies proposed, it is safe to argue that the Act does not intend to harm international arbitration. Yet the possibility for harm still exists. This harm hinges on the Act’s effect on key underlying principles of international law. In order to prevent unintended consequences, it is helpful to understand those consequences and how they fit with the Act’s concern for existing law. (more…)
Archive for May, 2009
The Arbitration Fairness Act and International Law: Focusing on the New York Convention (Part 1)
Saturday, May 30th, 2009Sotomayor and Arbitration? (Updated)
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009While much of the debate surrounding President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor will likely focus on hot button issues like abortion, gay rights, and “judicial activism,” another aspect lingers, her position on issues important to arbitration. (more…)
Chronicling the Criticism
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009The Arbitration Fairness Act has generated no small amount of criticism. In fact, some consumer groups have come together to form lobbies directed specifically at passing the Act (for example, here). While this criticism is interesting, there is a notable exception to the debate: international arbitration. Whether this is an oversight of the competing groups or not, it deserves mention in the debate. (more…)
Following the Arbitration Fairness Act
Thursday, May 14th, 2009Bills have recently been introduced in both the United States House of Representatives and Senate seeking to reform arbitration and the arbitration process. While there are a number of such bills, the one receiving the most attention is the Arbitration Fairness Act. This Act would dramatically reshape arbitration in the United States and might even have a broader impact throughout the world. Because MIAS is a member of both the United States and international arbitration community, it is important that we both follow and participate in the development of the Act. In this spirit, over the coming weeks and months I will be posting on the Act and providing updates on both the Act and related topics. (more…)
Draft Arbitrator Disclosure Guidelines Not Accepted by ABA DR Section Council
Sunday, May 10th, 2009By Mark Kantor
In case you have been following the controversy in the US about the widely circulated draft “Best Practices for Meeting Disclosure Requirements Under the RUAA and Similar Arbitrator Disclosure Standards” proposed by a subcommittee of the American Bar Association, on April 15 the Section Council of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section refused to approve those draft Guidelines. You may recall that the draft Guidelines had originally been proposed in January 2008 by a subcommittee of the DR Section’s Arbitration Committee, revised in January 2009 and then again in April 2009.
The final draft had made no significant changes to the scope of recommended arbitrator investigation and disclosure obligations, despite criticisms that the proposals were seriously overbroad. That draft did, however, seek to sidestep international critics by limiting the Guidelines’ coverage solely to US domestic commercial arbitration and excluding international arbitration. (more…)
CIArb Commercial Arbitration Workshop: New Orleans, October 2009
Monday, May 4th, 2009The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) will be offering a Commercial Arbitration Workshop this October 10-11 in New Orleans, LA, consisting of an Introductory Entry Level Course and an Advanced-Fast Track to Fellowship Program.