Unilateral Jurisdiction Clauses Undermined in Russia,
France
A unilateral jurisdiction clause is a dispute resolution clause
that gives one party a jurisdictional option that the other party
does not have. For example, a clause could provide for disputes to
be resolved by international arbitration but, in addition, give
only one of the parties a unilateral option to refer disputes to a
competent national court instead of resorting to arbitration. Or, a
clause could provide for disputes to be resolved in the courts of a
certain jurisdiction, but give one of the parties an option to
resort to a court of another jurisdiction. Such unilateral clauses
are commonly used in international financing agreements, where the
lenders wish to have flexibility to resort to litigation or
arbitration, or choose a venue for litigation to recover amounts
due. However, recent decisions by the Supreme Arbitration Court of
the Russian Federation and the French Cour de Cassation
