The Arbitration Brief

Spain’s Renewable Energy Disputes: Renewable Energy Needs Reliable Arbitration

By: Aloke Prabhu; Junior Staffer Spain’s decade-long war with foreign investors over the changes to its renewable energy policy in 2010 continues as the country seeks to annul tens of millions in awarded damages. The story of Spain’s disputes will likely discourage investors’ confidence in international investments in renewables for the foreseeable future. These cases…

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…