GLI International Arbitration First Edition - April 2015

Introduction

Despite its size and complex dual federal and state legal system, the United States is a favourable forum for international arbitration. Its federal and state arbitration statutes and decisional law reflect a strong public policy in favour of arbitration, especially international arbitration. Nowhere is this pro-arbitration policy more clearly set forth than in the Federal Arbitration Act (the "FAA"), which governs international arbitration in the United States, and the jurisprudence interpreting the FAA. Enacted in 1925, the FAA is divided into three chapters. The first chapter governs cases involving interstate or foreign commerce. The second chapter implements the New York Convention, which the United States signed in 1958.¹ The third chapter implements the Panama Convention, which the United States signed in 1975.²