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Arbitration Agreements That Discriminate In The Selection And Appointment Of Arbitrators

By: Jeff Dasteel

 

In 2010, an English appellate court rocked the world of international arbitration when it declared that a provision in an arbitration agreement restricting the selection of arbitrators to members of a particular religious group violated European Union laws banning discrimination in employment.2 While the case of Jivraj v. Hashwani was on appeal to the United Kingdom Supreme Court, there was concern in the international arbitration community that more common restrictions on the qualifications of arbitrators related to national origin might also be subject to challenge. In that regard, two major international arbitration rule sets give preference to the appointment of arbitrators who are not of the same national origin as any of the parties.3 These international rule sets may have needed to change, at least when used in England, if Jivraj v. Hashwani had withstood appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Targeting Demand: A New Approach To Curbing Human Trafficking In The United States

By: Morgan Brown

 

On December 6, 1865, Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and with it, released the last 40,000 slaves in the U.S. South. And yet today, 150 years after Abraham Lincoln gave notice of the Emancipation Proclamation, it is estimated that as many as 27 million individuals are trafficked around the world, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those individuals are trafficked into the United States each year for purposes ranging from domestic servitude and forced labor, to prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, to organ harvesting.2 Although human trafficking dates back to the slave trade, improvements in communication and transportation in recent decades, combined with the latest global financial crisis, have led to an exponential increase in the number of people traded around the world each year. Advances in transportation have increased the ease and decreased the time required to move human cargo from one side of the world to the other, privatization and liberalization of markets have created more accessible marketplaces, and improvements in technology have increased the volume and complexity of international financial transactions.

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Jus Post Bellum In Iraq: The Development Of Emerging Norms For Economic Reform In Post Conflict Countries

By: Christina C. Benson

 

The Mesopotamian valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers once served as a cradle of civilization, and grew into a crossroads of commerce and culture at the intersection of strategic international trade routes.4 Today, Iraq stands at a geographic, historic, and economic crossroads. Finally emerging from decades of conflict and isolation, the country has endured three devastating wars, the demise of the Saddam Hussein regime, the end of international economic sanctions, and the protracted process of approving a constitution and forming a new democratically elected government.5 Iraq still faces massive challenges for rebuilding its legal and economic institutions and infrastructure internally, while re-engaging with regional and multilateral trading partners externally. The nation’s emergence from war, and efforts to build the foundations of stable governance and economic growth, provides a fascinating case study for analyzing new international norms espoused by the United Nations and international economic organizations promoting the “rule of law” in post-conflict countries.

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Opportunistic Discipline: Using Eurasian Integration To Improve Sanctions Against Belarus

By: Ilya Zlatkin

 

“The last true dictatorship in the heart of Europe.”1 Since former United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice coined this phrase in 2005, this less than flattering title has clung to Belarus.2 For its part, however, the former Soviet republic’s government has done enough to maintain the moniker. Under President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule, the authorities have quashed nonviolent demonstrations, imprisoned political adversaries, and dominated media outlets. 3 After thousands of Belarusians protested Lukashenko’s reelection in December 2010, the Belarusian president further clamped down on the public’s right to assemble.4 In addition, seven opposing candidates found themselves behind bars.

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Legal Services In India: Is There An Obligation Under The GATS Or Are There Policy Reasons For India To Open Its Legal Services Market To Foreign Legal Consultants?

By: Arno L. Eisen

 

The globalization of trade and business has led to a globalization of legal services1 and a growing demand for legal advice that transcends the borders of one jurisdiction. Clients often prefer to have one legal adviser rather than several in different jurisdictions. This has led to the development of international law firms with offices around the world that provide their clients with legal services for all their international ventures. In this context, foreign legal consultants (FLCs) have become a common feature of the legal profession. FLCs are foreign lawyers supplying legal services abroad by advising on international law, their home country’s laws, or on the laws of a third country where they are qualified.

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