Prerequisite: No prior courses required. The course is open to 2Ls, 3Ls, and LLMs.
This course is a prerequisite for the Spring 2025 International Arbitration: Investment course.

Exam Type: There is no exam administered by the Registrar’s Office. Students will instead role play in a mock commercial arbitration proceeding replicating real life conditions. Grading will also be based on class participation.

International arbitration is the normal means of resolving international disputes involving companies and/or States, including disputes with high economic stakes or political/geopolitical sensitivity.

This class is aimed at providing students with a comprehensive understanding of international arbitration law, both from a theoretical perspective and how legal theory translates into the practice of the field. It will proceed on the basis of a back and forth between the legal theory of international arbitration and all questions that arise in the lifetime of an arbitration proceeding, including (i) the constitution, operation, and powers of international arbitral tribunals, (ii) the applicable rules of law, (iii) the arbitral procedure, and (iv) the review of arbitral awards by national courts. The class will also examine the interplay between the different legal orders that come into play in international arbitration, namely international arbitration as a system and State legal orders.

Being focused on international arbitration law, the class is not designed as a course on advocacy, although the Mock arbitration that will be organized at the end of the class in lieu of the final exam will allow students to practice a hearing in real-life conditions.

Enrolment is capped at twenty-five students. Exceptionally, students who have taken the Investment arbitration class in the Fall 2023 will be permitted to enroll, irrespective of the cap. The class will proceed based on students having carefully prepared the reading materials; only students who are prepared to make a firm commitment should enroll.

Note: This course will meet over three weeks from October 21 to November 7, 2024. The final class session will be an extended session of up to 5 hours (further details will be available closer to the start of the term on the course page).