This course fulfills the upper level writing requirement.



International arbitration has expanded tremendously in recent years in an increasingly globalized world of commerce and lies at the intersection of public and private international law. This course focuses on the use of international arbitration as the method of choice for settlement of disputes involving international trade, property rights, investment and business transactions by examining the institutions, legal issues and processes concerning i) enforcement of agreements to arbitrate, ii) selection and challenge of arbitrators, iii) choice of the procedure and applicable law in arbitral proceedings, and iv) enforcement of the resulting arbitral award. Course materials include international treaties and model laws on commercial arbitration, court decisions, arbitral awards, national arbitration statutes, the rules of various arbitration institutions, and scholarly writings, from the U.S. as well as many other countries. Completion of the course is intended to equip students to understand the pros and cons of international arbitration in international commercial transactions, to evaluate the different arbitration institutions and proceedings, to analyze choice of law and enforcement mechanisms in international arbitration and to advise on instituting or defending against international arbitration in commercial disputes.



The course includes writing of an in-depth research paper on arbitration proceedings or drafting an arbitral award based on an assigned hypothetical dispute submitted to arbitration, which is designed to meet the upper level writing requirement. The course will also be valuable to students considering participation in the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.