International Commercial Dispute Resolution

This intensive course examines both state jurisdiction and arbitration.
The state jurisdiction element will take an international tour around the instruments that regulate jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement in international court cases. The most important instrument in Europe, Brussels I, the regulation on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments 2001, will be explored, as will the proposals for changes to Brussels I. The Hague Convention on the Choice of Forum, signed by the European Union, will be compared with similar clauses in Brussels I. Also the Unidroit/ALI Principles of Transnational Procedures and the ALI (US) principles on recognition of foreign judgments will be compared with Brussels I. This will provide the participants with an insight into the rationale behind these instruments and at the same time enable them to use those rules in practice. The lectures will briefly touch upon matters relating to evidence (the Evidence regulation and the Hague Evidence Convention; discovery; witness hearings).
The arbitration element of the course is intended to provide students with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the process of arbitration. How should an arbitration agreement be drafted; what are the pros and cons of arbitration compared to other forms of dispute resolution; what are the most commonly used international rules and arbitration institutions around the world; and how is an arbitration usually conducted. Investment arbitrations and the position of a State in an arbitration will also be dealt with. As a final topic, the annulment of awards and the (international) recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards will be dealt with, wherein the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 plays an important role.
Students will be encouraged to participate in the Leiden University team for the Willem C. Vis Moot competition which consists of a mock international arbitration in competition with some 250 other university teams from all over the world.