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S2 | MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014 | Alternative Dispute Resolution
| NYLJ.COM

International Arbitration

BY LUIS O’NAGHTEN
AND MARTIN DOMB
In New York and Miami
O
n March 4, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court
decided BG Group v. Argentina, possibly
the most important Supreme Court case
to specifically address international arbitra-
Both venues get more active.
tion. That decision may effectively make the
United States the world’s most friendly inter-

national arbitration jurisdiction. Simply put,
the court ruled that when a party attempts to
enforce an international arbitration award and
the losing party attempts to defend against
enforcement by arguing that certain precondi-
tions to the arbitration agreement were not
met, a court should give deference to the
arbitrator’s decision and not conduct a de

novo review.
To the extent that parties enter into inter-
national arbitration agreements because they
prefer to keep the courts away from decid-
ing these types of gateway issues regarding
arbitrability, the Supreme Court’s decision is
welcome news. Indeed, even in some of the
most international arbitration friendly nations
in the world, such as France, where courts

are prohibited from interfering with ongoing
international arbitration proceedings, at the
enforcement stage, courts are permitted to
review gateway issues regarding arbitrabil-
ity de novo and do not afford any deference
to the decisions made by the arbitral panel.
The Supreme Court’s decision is particu-
larly good news for New York and Miami,
the two cities that stand to gain the most as

international arbitration venues. Although
New York has long been recognized as the
most popular U.S. venue for international
arbitrations, Miami has come a long way in
establishing itself as the second most popular
venue in the United States. In 2013, the Inter-
national Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the
oldest and most important entity administer-

ing international arbitrations, reported that
of all ICC arbitrations venued in the United
States, 54 percent were located in New York,
while Miami came in second with 22 percent.
No other U.S. city rose above the 6 percent
mark. In recognition of Miami’s place in the

K
LUIS O’NAGHTEN is a partner at Akerman in Miami OC
and chair of the international litigation and arbitra- GST
tion practice. MARTIN DOMB is a partner in the firm’s BI
litigation practice in New York.

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