The Arbitration Brief

What Would the End of McCarran-Ferguson Mean for Arbitration?

By: Dominic Charles; Junior Staffer With the passage of the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (CHIRA) of 2020, on January 13, 2021, Congress signaled that the world of insurance arbitration may soon change dramatically. Competitive Health Reform Act of 2020, PL 116-137, January 13, 2021, 134 Stat 5097; James W. Lowe McCarran-Ferguson Act Amended Repeal…

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…