Forum Shopping and Venue in Transnational Litigation


Book Description

The rules by which a venue is selected and settled upon for the resolution of any given transnational dispute have fostered a complex, fascinating and burgeoning body of law of great commercial significance. As courts and legislatures seek to fashion sophisticated yet practicaljurisdictional responses to this issue, practitioners strive to maximize their clients' prospects of success by securing their own preferred venue. For so long as different forums yield the prospect of different outcomes in the resolution of any given dispute, litigation about where to litigate isinevitable.Forum shopping is the province of plaintiffs and defendants alike. This book examines the fascinating competition to win the battle for venue in transnational litigation.It first identifies and analyses the pre-conditions and incentives for forum shopping. These serve to explain not only the frequent intensity of interlocutory litigation relating to questions of venue but also the reason why much transnational litigation settles once the issue of venue is resolved,in turn underlining the practical significance of the subject. The guiding principle of the 'natural forum' - the common law's conceptual response to disputed questions of venue - is subjected to detailed analysis and compared with the more orderly response of jurisdiction-regulating conventions,most successfully effected in EU Regulation 44/2001 and its progenitor, the Brussels Convention. Then the various techniques of what can be called 'reverse forum shopping' including the evolving law relating to anti-suit injunctions and its interplay with the concept of international judicialcomity are considered in detail. Finally, the book examines the role of, and the law relating to, jurisdiction and arbitration agreements in transnational litigation, including the manifold techniques by which parties seek to (and frequently do) extricate themselves from these forum-selectionarrangements.




Forum Shopping in International Adjudication


Book Description

Forum shopping, which consists of strategic forum selection, parallel litigation and serial litigation, is a phenomenon of growing importance in international adjudication. Preliminary objections (or a party's placement of conditions on the existence and development of the adjudicatory process) have been traditionally conceived as barriers to adjudication before single forums. This book discusses how adjudicators and parties may refer to questions of jurisdiction and admissibility in order to avoid conflicting decisions on overlapping cases, excessive exercises of jurisdiction and the proliferation of litigation. It highlights an emerging, overlooked function of preliminary objections: transmission belts of procedure-regulating rules across the 'international judiciary'. Activating this often dormant, managerial function of preliminary objections would nurture coordination of otherwise independent and autonomous tribunals.




Res Judicata, Estoppel, and Foreign Judgments


Book Description

This clear and original book provides a much-needed analysis of the doctrines of res judicata and abuse of process as applied to foreign judgments recognized in England for their preclusive effect. In particular, it examines the four preclusive pleas which are encountered in practice, namely:(i) cause of action estoppel; (ii) issue estoppel; (iii) former recovery per section 34 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982; and (iv) the rule in Henderson v Henderson. So far as foreign judgments are concerned, the book examines separately the preclusive effects of foreign judgmentsrecognized according to the English common law and related statutory rules, and foreign judgments which the English courts are obliged to recognize under the Brussels and Lugano Conventions. It also includes a discussion of the preclusive effects of judgments recognized under the proposed HagueConvention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments in civil and commercial matters.Although the complex and technical doctrines of res judicata and abuse of process are well known in the context of domestic judicial decisions, little has hitherto been written analysing how these doctrines apply when the judgment emanates from a foreign court. It is not surprising, therefore, thatthis area of law has been frequently confused and mis-applied. And yet the recognition of foreign judgments for preclusive purposes is an increasingly important area for practitioners and academics - especially for those interested in international commercial litigation, and not least given theimportant treaty developments that are occurring. For these reasons, this book is a very timely work. Written with a practitioner focus, it includes extensive references to res judicata authorities in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.




Treaty Shopping in International Investment Law


Book Description

Treaty shopping, also known under the terms of nationality planning, corporate (re-)structuring or corporate maneuvering, implies a strategic change of nationality or strategic invocation of another nationality with the aim of accessing another (usually more favourable) investment treaty for purposes of investment arbitration. When deciding on whether an investment claim based on treaty shopping should be upheld or dismissed, investment arbitral tribunals have been increasingly faced with significant questions, such as: What is treaty shopping and how may legitimate nationality planning be distinguished from treaty abuse in international investment law? Should a claimant that is controlled by a host-State national be considered a protected investor, or should tribunals pierce its corporate veil? Does an investor have to make the investment in good faith, and does it have to make a contribution of its own to the investment it is claiming protection for? When does a corporate restructuring constitute an abuse of process, and which is the role of the notion of dispute in this respect? How efficient are denial of benefits clauses to counter treaty shopping? Treaty Shopping in International Investment Law examines in a systematic manner the practice of treaty shopping in international investment law and arbitral decisions that have undertaken to draw this line. While some legal approaches taken by arbitral tribunals have started to consolidate, others remain unsettled, painting a picture of an overall inconsistent jurisprudence. This is hardly surprising, given the thousands of international investment agreements that provide for the investor ́ s right to sue the host State on grounds of alleged breaches of investment obligations. This book analyses and discusses the different ways by which arbitral tribunals have dealt with the value judgment at the core of the distinction between objectionable and unobjectionable treaty shopping, and makes proposals de lege ferenda on how States could reform their international investment agreements (in particular with respect to treaty drafting) in order to make them less susceptible to the practice of treaty shopping.




Forum Shopping Despite Unification of Law


Book Description

According to some commentators, forum shopping is an “evil” that must be eradicated. It has been suggested that the unification of substantive law through international conventions constitutes one way to achieve this outcome. This book shows that the drafting of uniform substantive law convention cannot prevent forum shopping. The reasons are classified into two main categories: convention-extrinsic and convention-intrinsic reasons. The former category comprises those reasons upon which uniform substantive law conventions do not have an impact at all. These reasons range from the costs of access to justice to the bias of potential adjudicators to the enforceability of judgments. The convention-intrinsic reasons, on the other hand, are reasons that relate to the nature and design of uniform substantive law conventions, and include their limited substantive and international spheres of application as well as their limited scope of application, the need to provide for reservations, etc. This book also focuses on another reason why forum shopping cannot be overcome: the impossibility of ensuring uniform applications and interpretations of the various uniform substantive law conventions.




Courting Failure


Book Description

An eye-opening account of the widespread and systematic decay of America's bankruptcy courts




International Civil Litigation in United States Courts


Book Description

International Civil Litigation in United States Courts is the essential, comprehensive law school text for the current and future international litigator or international corporate lawyer. Covering all the topics discussed in competing texts and more, this casebook seamlessly combines international litigation, conflict of laws, and comparative civil procedure. This Sixth Edition includes excerpts and updated discussion of recent U.S. court decisions and legislation relating to a wide range of private and public international law topics, including foreign sovereign immunity, choice of law, antisuit injunctions, legislative jurisdiction, service of process on non-U.S. citizens, international discovery, foreign judgment enforcement, and international arbitration. Key Features: Updates on recent US Supreme Court and other significant U.S. court decisions, including Daimler AG v. Bauman, BNSF Ry. Co. v. Tyrrell, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon, and more. Updated discussion of international law and national law from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Revised Notes on recent developments and current topics such as terrorism, proof of foreign law, and judicial jurisdiction.




Forum Shopping and International Commercial Law


Book Description

Commentators and courts disagree on such fundamental issues as the definition of forum shopping and whether it is an 'unsung virtue' or an untrammelled vice. Disagreements persist on how to deal with 'virtuous' forum shopping or how best to proscribe "evil" forum shopping, if such a distinction can at all be made. The articles reprinted in this three-volume collection illuminate, explore and contest these questions. Volume I analyses the definitions and purposes of forum shopping, the right and duty to practise it and how it relates to private international law. Volume II focuses on the link between forum shopping and uniform substantive law as well as discussing jurisdictional issues and arbitration. Volume III investigates defamation, intellectual property and competition law, as well as examining insolvency proceedings along with treaty shopping. Together with an introduction by the editors, this collection provides a comprehensive overview of the topic and will prove useful to academics, students and practitioners alike.




The Nature and Enforcement of Choice of Court Agreements


Book Description

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "This constitutes a work of impressive scholarship that will become a major reference point for future discourse on choice of court agreements. Dr Ahmed advances a firm thesis in a lucid manner that will satisfy both academics and practitioners. The discussion is supported by a monumental foundation of underpinning research. Ahmed's monograph throughout shows clear understanding of underlying substantive laws and in Chapter 11 displays a refreshing willingness to engage in intelligent speculation on the implications of Brexit." Professor David Milman, University of Lancaster "The book is an excellent attempt to understand the theoretical underpinnings of choice of court agreements in private international law ... Anyone with an interest in the theory and practice of choice of court agreements, in particular in mechanisms for their enforcement, should read this book. They will find much of value by doing so." Professor Paul Beaumont, University of Aberdeen (from the Series Editor's Preface) This book examines the fundamental juridical nature, classification and enforcement of choice of court agreements in international commercial litigation. It is the first full-length attempt to integrate the comparative and doctrinal analysis of choice of court agreements under the Brussels I Recast Regulation, the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements ('Hague Convention') and the English common law jurisdictional regime into a theoretical framework. In this regard, the book analyses the impact of a multilateral and regulatory conception of private international law on the private law enforcement of choice of court agreements before the English courts. In the process, it both pre-empts and offers innovative solutions to issues that may arise under the jurisprudence of the emergent Brussels I Recast Regulation and the Hague Convention. The need to understand the nature and enforcement of choice of court agreements before the English courts from the perspective of the EU private international law regime and the Hague Convention cannot be understated. This important new study aims to fill an existing gap in the literature in relation to an account of choice of court agreements which explores and reconnects arguments drawn from international legal theory with legal practice. However, the scope of the work remains most relevant for cross-border commercial lawyers interested in crafting pragmatic solutions to the conflicts of jurisdictions.




Principles of International Economic Law


Book Description

A comprehensive insight into the legal framework of international economic relations, comprising the law of the World Trade Organization, investment law, and international monetary law, this book highlights the context of human rights, good governance, environmental protection, development, and the role of the G20 and multinationals.