Resolving International Contract Disputes – Five Key Steps For Corporate Counsel

Originally published Summer 2007

It is false economy to leave the dispute resolution provisions of complex international agreements to be dealt with by last-minute boilerplate. The time and expense devoted to negotiating and recording rights and obligations is wasted if they cannot effectively be enforced. There are five basic steps to identify and implement an appropriate dispute resolution process for international agreements.

Step One - Identify Your Priorities

The first step is to identify and rank the desired attributes of the dispute resolution process. This is best done through a detailed discussion between counsel and management or operations personnel, to identify the kinds of disputes most likely to arise and their potential operational, financial and economic implications. In the context of an international business relationship, the list of desirable attributes might include some of