United States - National Report - World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
David Lindsey, James Hosking, and Jennifer Gorskie are with the New York law firm Chaffetz Lindsey LLP, a boutique firm specializing in international arbitration and litigation. The authors have 50 years of combined experience representing plaintiff and defendant multinational companies in cross border disputes decided by international arbitration tribunals under the rules of the ICDR, the ICC, the LCIA, SIAC, ICSID, and other leading international arbitral institutions. They also represent foreign sovereigns in actions pending before international tribunals and in U.S. courts, as well as private parties in actions against foreign sovereigns.
Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
I. INTRODUCTION: ARBITRATION IN THE UNITED STATES—HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE**
A. History and Current Legislation on Arbitration
1. Historical evolution of law relating to arbitration The practice of international commercial arbitration can be traced back to the beginning of the United States. As far back as the early 1800s, New York state statutes incorporated provisions concerning the confirmation, vacatur and modification of awards rendered in submissions to arbitration.1 However, well into the 20th century, U.S. courts remained reluctant to enforce arbitration agreements because they displaced court jurisdiction.2
In 1925, Congress enacted the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”),3 many provisions of which were closely modeled on New York State’s 1920 arbitration statute. The FAA remains the cornerstone of arbitration law in the United States and provides for the enforcement of both arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. With the passage of the FAA, courts increasingly looked upon arbitration more favorably, a trend that continued over the next several decades and picked up considerable momentum by the 1980s through to the present day.