International Commercial Arbitration

What can the party from the US do to uphold the arbitration agreement?  Can the party turn to the US Courts, English Courts or the Indian courts? These are some of the issues that this unit will address. The growth of international commerce and infrastructure projects over the last three to four decades has led to the increase in the use of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. Since 1998 more than 4,500 ADR and arbitration cases were recorded annually in London alone. International Commercial Arbitration is a highly specialised and engaging area of study. Increased globalisation has enabled many business transactions to be conducted across borders resulting in many business contracts containing complex arbitration clauses. For example, party A, a US entity contracts with B from India for the supply of engineering equipment. The contract contains an arbitration clause providing for arbitration in London. Before the tribunal is constituted the party from India commences proceedings in another jurisdiction. 

You will understand the core principles of International Commercial Arbitration deriving from international conventions (especially the New York Convention), national laws (especially the English Arbitration Act 1996 and the UNCITRAL Model Law), arbitration rules (especially the ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL).

This unit also examines the jurisprudential basis and practices of International Commercial Arbitration dealing with both historical evolution and current developments. It examines the theory and practice of International Commercial Arbitration and gives a practical insight into fundamental principles from an international perspective by reference to the principal conventions and model laws and the current approaches in different jurisdictions. There are also opportunities to participate in practical “moot” sessions.

In the past years, arbitration has also been the proper dispute resolution mechanism for energy disputes, in particular for those arising out of large projects or against States. Leading surveys in the field point out that oil and gas companies favour international arbitration because it enables them not only to resort to a neutral dispute resolution mechanism, but in particular because they can select specialised arbitrators with substantial knowledge of the industry and they can easily enforce the arbitral awards worldwide. The unit will take a look at the particularities of energy disputes in the context of international arbitration and will briefly examine the provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty in regards to arbitration (with focus on the recent disputes arising out of renewable energy from photovoltaic plants).

International Commercial Litigation

When business is transacted across national boundaries, special kinds of legal problems are likely to arise. If a dispute arises between the parties, it cannot be assumed that English courts will decided a case which has a foreign element in the same way it would decide a case which is connected only with England. In cases with foreign connections, three questions arise: first, does the English court have jurisdiction to hear the case; second, which law should an English court apply to the dispute between the parties; and third if a dispute is resolved abroad can one of the parties have the decision of the foreign tribunal recognised and enforced in England?

The aim of this unit is to give you a thorough grounding in both traditional common law rules and rules derived from International Conventions to which the UK is a party that relate to International Commercial Ligation. On completing this unit, you will be able to identify and fully understand the factors which may justify the exercise of jurisdiction by the English court; the elements which may help determine whether the English court should apply its own law or the law of a foreign country; and the considerations which may justify an English court in giving effect to a foreign judgment in England. Through a combination of teaching, case studies and critical appraisal, you will be kept abreast of current developments in this dynamic area of law.

An increasingly relevant area for International Commercial Litigation is the energy law, with the rise of contentious matters in the in the past years as a result of the increased liberalisation of markets. Large projects in the energy field usually generate disputes related to costs, warranties or performance or termination of contracts, as well as environmental related claims (see the oil pollution liability in offshore petroleum industry after the Macondo spill).

Law Dissertation

Aims:

·        To bring theory and practice together to formulate a hypothesis and conduct a major piece of research on a topic of your choice relevant to your field of study;

·        To stimulate you to reflect on issues critically and to identify aspects that need further research;

·        To provide you with the opportunity to explore a topic in considerable depth, including carrying out a major literature review;

·        To train you to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s research and also your own;

·        To enhance skills in time-management, research management, project organisation and decision-making.

Relevance 

An important aim of a Master’s degree is to train you to use your knowledge and skills independently so that you can successfully carry out a major piece of research. This dissertation provides you with the opportunity for sustained independent study that builds on your research proposal and represents the culmination of your LLM studies.

Investment Treaty Arbitration

The legal environment for foreign investment has changed dramatically over the last twenty-five years, especially after the international investment agreement (IIAs), and especially the bilateral investment treaties (BITs), flourished in the ‘90s. Investment protection, be it substantive or procedural, is now on the negotiation table of all countries. In particular, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is at the core of such protection and, not surprisingly, greatly challenged in the last five years.

This unit covers the key components of investment law with focus on the protection of investments through arbitration (be it under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention) or under ad hoc or other institutional arbitration). However, this procedural remedy cannot be fully understood without a look into the substantive standards of protection of investments and investors. Reference is made to relevant international and municipal law, as well as to customary international law.