Using International Trade Law to Enforce International Arbitration Awards

Time: Thursday, November 29, 2012 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm

Description

 

Enforcing international arbitration awards is never easy, particularly when a sovereign state is the obligor.  Frustrated holders of arbitration awards have recently sought to use international trade law to impose “costs” on a non-complying State. Those efforts include Chevron seeking to persuade the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to rule that Ecuador is no longer eligible for trade preferences under the Andean Trade Preference Act by failing to comply with the orders of two arbitral tribunals, several holders of unpaid Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) awards seeking to persuade USTR to deny Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits to Argentina for failing to comply with BIT arbitration awards, and the like. Join us to hear Mélida Hodgson of Foley Hoag LLP, Nigel Blackaby of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Jonathan (Josh) S. Kallmer of Crowell & Moring LLP discuss the pros and cons of this developing overlap between the world of international arbitration and international trade law.  Jean Kalicki, partner at Arnold & Porter and co-chair of the International Dispute Resolution Committee, will moderate this unique program.

It is hard to assemble a better-placed and more knowledgeable panel of speakers on the subject of using regulatory and legislative tools to enforce international arbitration awards.

Mélida Hodgson is particularly well-suited to discuss this topic. She is a partner at Foley Hoag's Washington, D.C. office and practices in the international litigation and arbitration group. She is a former associate general counsel of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. At USTR, Mélida litigated international trade disputes before the World Trade Organization (WTO), and provided counsel in North American Free Trade Agreement.

(NAFTA) Chapter 11 investor-State arbitrations involving the United States, Canada, and México. She also defended the United States in Ad Hoc arbitrations under the 1996 Softwood Lumber Agreement between the United States and Canada and represented the United States in the negotiation of the new generation of free trade agreement investment protection provisions, and bilateral investment treaties.

Nigel Blackaby is a partner in the Washington DC office of Freshfields and head of Freshfields' U.S. and Latin American arbitration practices. He has been personally involved in a large number of investment treaty arbitrations where the State in question has not honored the award. Nigel is particularly well placed to explain whether the move to use international trade law tools for leverage to obtain payment is America-centric or being exported worldwide. Come hear Nigel speak about his own experiences and whether these tools are real or illusory.

Josh Kallmer very recently left USTR to join Crowell & Moring, LLP, where he is counsel in Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group and based in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Josh was formerly Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment, and before that Assistant General Counsel, at USTR. His responsibilities included developing and implementing U.S. international investment policy, co-chairing the Bilateral Investment Treaty program and taking a central role in crafting the investment policy component of the Obama Administration's post-Arab Spring economic policy initiative in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. At USTR, Josh was in the middle between arbitration award holders and obligor States.  His perspective on using regulatory measures to enforce international arbitration awards is based on in-the-trenches experience.

This luncheon program is sponsored by the International Dispute Resolution Committee of the International Law Section. In cosponsorship with the International Trade Committee of the ABA Section of International Law.

Location

Arnold & Porter LLP
555 12th Street, NW
(Metro Center Metro Station)
Washington DC 20004

Contact

Sections Office 202-626-3463

Speakers

Nigel Blackaby, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Mélida Hodgson, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP

Jonathan (Josh) S. Kallmer, Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP

Jean Kalicki, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, and Co-Chair, DC Bar International Dispute Resolution Committee (Moderator)

CLE Credit

No

Cost

ABA Section of International Law, Intl Trade Comm $20.00
Government and Non-Profit Employees $15.00
International Law Section $20.00
LawStudents $5.00
Non-Section Members $35.00

 Register here