THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT PUTS END TO “CIRCUIT SPLIT” ON APPLICABLE GROUNDS FOR VACATUR OF “NONDOMESTIC” AWARDS

On April 13, 2023, in Corporación AIC v. Hidroelectrica Santa Rita,1 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned en banc more than two decades of prevailing precedent (Industrial Risk2and Inversiones3) which held that international arbitral awards rendered in the U.S. (known as “nondomestic awards”) may only be vacated (set aside) on the grounds … Read more

SECTION 1782 UPDATE: U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES THAT U.S. DISCOVERY CANNOT BE USED FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION AND INVESTMENT ARBITRATION

On June 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd., 21-401, 2022 WL 2111355 (U.S. June 13, 2022) that U.S. discovery cannot be ordered under 28 USC § 1782 in aid of international commercial arbitration and investor-state arbitration. As explained in a previous post, § 1782 is … Read more

Amal Bouchenaki contributes to the Fifth Edition of Global Arbitration Review’s “The Guide to Advocacy”

Amal Bouchenaki, Partner in Herbert Smith Freehills’ New York office, has contributed to the Fifth Edition of Global Arbitration Review’s “The Guide to Advocacy” with a chapter entitled “Cultural Considerations in Advocacy: United States”. The chapter looks at procedural, ethical and societal considerations against which the cognitive framework of advocates in the United States has … Read more

ECUADOR IS NOW OFFICIALLY A CONTRACTING STATE OF THE ICSID CONVENTION

On June 30, 2021, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court) held that President Guillermo Lasso had the power to ratify the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention) without the approval of Ecuador’s National Assembly (the Decision).[1] The Constitutional Court also held that the ratification of the … Read more