The Arbitration Brief

California Gets Creative: How AB 51’s Future May Shape State Regulation of Arbitration

By: Scarlett Horn; Junior Staffer The United States (“U.S.”) Supreme Court has used cases such as Concepcion and Lamps Plus to establish its preference for enforcing arbitration clauses, including those that waive the right to class actions in consumer and employment contracts. Despite the pro-arbitration trend, California has remained undeterred in its resolve to avoid…

Frozen French Fries and the MPIA: The future of appeals at the WTO?

By: Colin McGinness; Junior Staffer In late December 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided on a seemingly routine case regarding the trade of frozen french fries between Colombia and the European Union (EU). Colombia accused several countries within the EU of ‘dumping’ frozen french fries and other frozen potato products into the Colombian market….

The Complex World of International Arbitration and Eventual Enforcement

Recently, in a decision issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union, in the case of Slovak Republic v. Achmea, intra-EU bilateral investment treaties’ (“BIT”) arbitration clauses were declared to be in violation of governing European Union (“EU”) law and therefore illegal. The court stated “that the arbitration clause in the BIT [between Slovakia and the…

Amy Coney Barrett on Arbitration: Solidifying a Pro-Business SCOTUS

Sworn into the Supreme Court on October 27, 2020, the third Supreme Court nominee from President Donald Trump is poised to set a conservative supermajority on the highest court. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a judge from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, took the seat vacated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had passed away on September…

Emergency Arbitration: The Unsung Hero of International Arbitration

Emergency arbitration. You know it, you…probably don’t think much about it, honestly. But the introduction of emergency arbitration is one of the most important recent changes in the field of international arbitration. Many parties agree to international arbitration because they would prefer to avoid local or national courts, some because bringing a case to court can be…