Arbitration

The importance of American international arbitration law has grown in recent decades. Arbitration is widely used as a means of resolving transnational disputes involving American parties, albeit more widely for some types of contracts than others. In Russia the Federal Law on International Commercial Arbitration, 1993 governs international commercial arbitration throughout the entire territory of Russia. Manifestly, this has a unification effect that complements and corresponds with legal practice in Russia.

In America the Federal Arbitration Act provides for contractually-based compulsory and binding arbitration. This would result in an arbitration award entered by an arbitrator or arbitration panel as opposed to a judgment entered by a court of law. In an arbitration the parties give up the right to an appeal on substantive grounds to a court. The Federal Arbitration Act requires that where the parties have agreed to arbitrate, they must do so in lieu of going to court.

Once an award is entered by an arbitrator or arbitration panel, it must be "confirmed" in a court of law. Once confirmed, the award is then reduced to an enforceable judgment, which may be enforced by the winning party in court. Under the Federal Arbitration Act awards must be confirmed within one year; while any objection to an award must be challenged by the losing party within three months. An arbitration agreement may be entered "prospectively"—that is, in advance of any actual dispute; or may be entered into by disputing parties once a dispute has arisen.

In Russia, according to the Law any disputes of commercial nature involving a foreign party, as well as commercial disputes where at least one party is a Russian company with foreign investments, can be referred to international commercial arbitration. The Law sets out a mandatory provision as to the written form of the arbitration agreement. Exchange of letters, faxes, emails and other means also qualify as evidence of a written...