In the inaugural issue of this newsletter, we examine significant developments, court rulings and trends to watch in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States....more
US Case Law Update -
US Supreme Court Decides That Courts, Not Arbitrators, Must Resolve Questions Over Conflicting Contracts -
In May 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling on the “gateway” issue of...more
On 9 May 2024, Skadden held the inaugural London Space Law Symposium, where six panels of Skadden representatives and industry experts discussed legal aspects of the new space economy. The event was held in the Naim Dangoor...more
6/28/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Outer Space ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability ,
Taxation ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Users of commercial arbitration — particularly those that employ the top institutional rules, such as those of the ICC or ICDR-AAA — have a number of basic expectations. They want their dispute to be decided by competent,...more
12/15/2023
/ Arbitration Awards ,
Arbitrators ,
Commercial Arbitration ,
Conflict Resolution ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
ICDR ,
Impartiality ,
International Arbitration ,
International Bar Association (IBA) ,
Legal Ethics ,
Popular ,
Vacatur
Years ago, when I was a law student in a moot court competition, our imaginary client was in need of an argument. Factually and legally, our side had been put in one of those tight corners for which the Jessup Moot is...more
ICSID Tribunal Finds That Colombia Violated the Minimum Standard of Treatment but Did Not Indirectly Expropriate the Investment in Eco Oro v. Colombia - In September 2021, an International Centre for Settlement of Investment...more
3/2/2022
/ 28 U.S.C. § 1782 ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Discovery ,
Dispute Resolution ,
ICSID ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
Latin America ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
This edition offers insights regarding COVID-19 ’s impact on mergers and acquisitions and on construction projects, recent changes to International Chamber of Commerce rules, and developments relating to discovery in aid of...more
3/2/2021
/ 28 U.S.C. § 1782 ,
Acquisitions ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Construction Project ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discovery ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
International Arbitration ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
International Construction Projects ,
Latin America ,
Material Adverse Change Clauses (MACs) ,
Mergers ,
UNCITRAL
A growing number of cases in which private parties are seeking enforcement of very large arbitration awards are percolating through the U.S. courts. These awards emanate both from tribunals seated in the United States (where...more
Impact of COVID-19 on Cross-Border Disputes -
Cross-border disputes in the year 2020 are likely to be significantly impacted by the current outbreak of COVID-19, and disputes involving Latin America are no exception. The...more
5/18/2020
/ Arbitral Authority ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cuba ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Helms-Burton Act ,
International Arbitration ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
International Litigation ,
Latin America ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
SCOTUS ,
Signatures ,
Subcontractors ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
Recent U.S. court decisions demonstrate that international arbitration remains a widely used and potentially attractive method for resolving international business disputes, largely due to the relative ease of enforcing...more
US Supreme Court Issues Trio of Arbitration Decisions -
During its 2018-19 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in three cases involving arbitration matters. These decisions, discussed further in our September 26,...more
10/29/2019
/ 28 U.S.C. § 1782 ,
Arbitrators ,
Class Arbitration ,
Commercial Electronic Messages ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cuba ,
Discovery ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Exceptions ,
Expropriation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Foreign Tribunals ,
FRCP 37(e) ,
Helms-Burton Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Latin America ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Private Right of Action ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Request for Production ,
SCOTUS ,
Text Messages ,
Treble Damages ,
U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC) ,
Venezuela
As detailed in an October 2, 2018, Skadden client alert, the United States’ efforts to revise the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reached a milestone on September 30, 2018, when the U.S., Mexico and...more
2/11/2019
/ Arbitration Awards ,
Argentina ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Bolivia ,
Border Disputes ,
Brazil ,
Chile ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Ecuador ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Guatemala ,
ICSID ,
International Arbitration ,
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ,
Investor Protection ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Latin America ,
Manifest Disregard ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Service of Process ,
Spain ,
UNCITRAL ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Uruguay
International arbitration has long offered participants the benefit of maintaining confidentiality in high-stakes cases. Like virtually all modern activity, however, it has become potentially vulnerable to cyberattacks. The...more
On December 5, 2018, Skadden hosted the webinar “Drafting International Dispute Resolution Clauses.” Topics included the importance of dispute resolution clauses, choosing between litigation and arbitration, drafting...more
1/21/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Best Practices ,
Confidential Communications ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Discovery ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Expert Witness ,
Forum Non Conveniens ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Multi-Party Litigation ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Service of Process ,
Venue
On September 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico and Canada announced they had reached an agreement to revamp the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which now will be known as the United...more
10/3/2018
/ Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Canada ,
Expropriation ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Arbitration ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors ,
Mexico ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
NAFTA ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
US Courts Will Decide Whether to Enforce US$2 Billion Award Against Petróleos de Venezuela -
In April 2018, an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal awarded US$2.04 billion in damages to two subsidiaries of U.S....more
7/13/2018
/ Affiliates ,
Alien Tort Statute ,
Animal Science Products Inc v Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Application of Foreign Laws ,
Bonds ,
Brazil ,
Breach of Contract ,
China ,
Class Action ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Corporate Liability ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Damages ,
Discrimination ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Investment ,
ICSID ,
International Arbitration ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
International Litigation ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Jesner et al. v. Arab Bank ,
Joint Protocols ,
Judicial Deference ,
Latin America ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Oil & Gas ,
One Belt One Road (OBOR) ,
Petrobras ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Venezuela
Courts in many countries, including the U.S., generally enforce contracts with clauses specifying international arbitration as the preferred avenue for resolving disputes. Accordingly, when drafting such provisions, due...more
Financial institutions have historically been skeptical about arbitration in the commercial context. As a result, the documentation used in commercial financial transactions has generally required that disputes be submitted...more
On January 11, 2018, Mexico became the 162nd country to sign the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention or the Convention)....more
NAFTA’s Future Looks Increasingly Uncertain -
The United States, Mexico and Canada have now completed the fifth round of negotiations concerning the renegotiation of NAFTA, and the future of the treaty is looking...more
12/19/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Bonds ,
Canada ,
Cuba ,
Default ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Financial Crisis ,
ICSID ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
Latin America ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Negotiations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Property ,
Peru ,
Poison Pill ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Treaties ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Venezuela v Helmerich & Payne ,
Writ of Attachment
One of the benefits of using arbitration to resolve international disputes is the availability of worldwide mechanisms to enforce an arbitral award. For example, the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement...more
Despite recent criticism from some quarters concerning the use of investment treaties and free trade agreements, the Chinese investment treaty system remains firmly in place. Since 1982, the People's Republic of China (PRC)...more
2/6/2017
/ Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
China ,
Expropriation ,
Hong Kong ,
ICSID ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Investor Protection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Macau ,
Singapore ,
UNCITRAL
A number of significant international arbitrations, particularly involving claims by investors against sovereign states, are venued in Washington, D.C. A September 30, 2016, decision by the U.S. District Court for the...more
10/13/2016
/ Arbitration Awards ,
Arbitrators ,
Argentina ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Evidence ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Impartiality ,
International Arbitration ,
Investors ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Standard of Review ,
UK ,
UNCITRAL ,
Young Lawyers