On Monday, June 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States
ruled on whether 28 U.S. Code § 1782(a) ("s. 1782")
permits US district courts to order discovery in aid of foreign
private arbitration proceedings.
In ZF Automotive US, Inc., Et al. v Luxshare Ltd.
("ZF Automotive"), the court decided that s. 1782
does not allow US district courts to order discovery for use in
foreign private arbitration proceedings. As a practical matter,
this ruling means that parties in private arbitrations seated
outside of the US cannot obtain discovery through US district
courts.
For many years, it had been a tactic in arbitrations seated
outside of the United States to seek discovery under s. 1782. When
invoked, this led to these arbitrations becoming much more like
court litigation given the liberal rights of discovery provided by
US court rules. This led to criticism that s. 1782 was harming the
purposes underlying arbitration – efficiency, speed and a
more tailored
