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ARTICLE · 21 JULY 2008

Pending Bills Threaten International Arbitration

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A subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives approved three bills on July 15, 2008, that would amend or restrict the Federal Arbitration Act.

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
William Knull, III
William Knull, III
Timothy Tyler
Timothy Tyler
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Originally published July 17, 2008

Keywords: Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitration Fairness Act, HR 3010, employment disputes, consumer disputes, franchise disputes, HR 5312, HR 6126

A subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives approved three bills on July 15, 2008, that would amend or restrict the Federal Arbitration Act. The proposed legislation is of significant concern to companies that rely on international arbitration to ensure a neutral forum to resolve international commercial and investment disputes.

Of these bills, the most far-reaching and threatening to international arbitration is the so-called Arbitration Fairness Act (H.R. 3010/S. 1782). The proposed legislation is troubling in several respects. First, the bill would eliminate pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate "employment," "consumer" and "franchise" disputes—thus affecting a broad swath of the

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