A Judge’s Perspective on Arbitration: A Review of Recent U.S. Federal Court Decisions Relating to Arbitration

Diane P. Wood 

In her keynote speech to the 2015 Annual Working Session of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviews decisions on arbitration proceedings recently handed down by U.S. federal courts. These decisions have covered a range of issues, including the arbitration agreement and its enforceability, the appointment of arbitrators, the appearance of witnesses, the enforcement of interim measures, and the recognition and enforcement of awards. The decisions demonstrate a generally positive attitude to arbitration on the part of U.S. federal courts. Those courts have upheld agreements to arbitrate, if necessary overriding contrary rules of some U.S. states. Although recourse to the federal courts for assistance in appointing arbitrators or summoning witnesses is relatively rare, federal courts have been regularly seized with applications for the recognition or enforcement of arbitral awards. Apart from ruling on the merits of such applications, they have also considered the court’s jurisdiction over and the instrument (e.g. New York Convention, Panama Convention) applicable to such applications. . The lecture gave rise to a discussion which is reproduced here, together with two appendices containing summaries of U.S. Supreme Court decisions from the years 2010-2015 and U.S. court of appeals decisions from the years 2008-2015 . In English.