Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

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INTRODUCTION TO SESSION ONE:

HOW NATIONAL IS INTERNATIONAL
ARBITRATION?
William Dodge

Good morning. My name is Bill Dodge and I teach at the
University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San
Francisco.

The first panel this morning is entitled “How National Is
International Arbitration?” The fault line our panelists will
explore is the one that runs between the idea of international
commercial arbitration as a transnational system – one that is
often chosen by the parties precisely in order to avoid national
courts – and the idea of international commercial arbitration as
ultimately grounded in the coercive power of the state. Many of
the fractures in the doctrinal landscape here concern the proper
role of courts at the arbitral seat, the proper role of courts at the
place of enforcement, and the relationship between these two sets
of courts. When the seat of arbitration is in the United States, to
what extent should the grounds for vacatur of awards track
international standards? What weight should a U.S. court give to
a foreign court’s decision to set aside (or not to set aside) an
award? In reviewing an award for arbitrability or public policy,
should a U.S. court ever consider foreign or international
standards of arbitrability or public policy?