When multiple international commercial arbitration proceedings are initiated between the same parties, does the court have jurisdiction to consolidate the proceedings without the consent of all the parties? Two decisions of the Alberta Court of the Queen’s Bench recently gave opposite answers to this question, and this is not the first time the court has been split on this issue. At the core of this debate are differing interpretations of section 8(1) of the International…
On September 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico and Canada (the Parties) reached an agreement to replace the…
British Columbia is now the second Canadian province to modernize its international arbitration legislation by adopting the 2006…
As the NAFTA withdrawal rhetoric heats up, it would be prudent to determine whether your company has any claims against a NAFTA government that are covered by the NAFTA investor-state dispute resolution mechanism (ISDS), and, if so, whether your company should prepare to give formal notice of its intention to bring such claims. Given the NAFTA requirement that such notice be given at least ninety days in advance, and given the agreementās six-month termination notice…
Prior to May 22, 2017, there was a split among U.S. federal appellate courts as to whether service…
Canada has long been an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction and was the first state to adopt the 1985 UNCITRAL Model…
With the ascension of the Trump administration, there is a question whether the investor-state dispute settlement (āISDSā) provisions under the NAFTA will survive. This note examines the potential effects of such a repeal on investors in NAFTA countries. NAFTA contains 22 chapters dealing with trade and governance issues. NAFTA Chapter 11, titled āInvestment,ā deals with each stateās treatment of investments made by nationals of other NAFTA parties. Chapter 11 provides protections against mistreatment of investments,…
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (‘CETA’) between the European Union and Canada was signed October 30, 2016.…
Baker McKenzie has released its North American Arbitration Primer. This builds on the success of Baker McKenzie’s Asia…
The International Chamber of Commerce (the āICCā) and the United States Council for International Business (the āUSCIBā) held an event on January 18, 2017, at the New York office of Baker & McKenzie LLP. Alexis Mourre, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (the āCourtā), discussed recent developments at the Court, such as amendments to the ICC Rules of Arbitration. The Amendments have been made to increase the efficiency and transparency of ICC arbitrations.…