International Commercial Arbitration

This summer, Hamline’s arbitration certificate program moves to London.

London provides unparalleled opportunities for interaction with the world’s leading commercial arbitrators and arbitration advocates. It’s only natural that Hamline School of Law, fifth ranked in the U.S. in ADR (according to US News and World Report), would partner with the School of International Arbitration (SIA), Queen Mary, University of London.

In 2001, driven by a strong tradition of ADR programming, Hamline University School of Law founded an arbitration certificate program, a joint venture with Thomas E. Carbonneau, editor-in-chief of the World Arbitration and Mediation Report and currently the Orlando Distinguished Professor of Law, The Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law. This structured study provides students with the highest quality of professional exposure to arbitration law and practice. As a means to continually grow and evolve, Hamline’s arbitration certificate program moves to London this summer, providing another level of experience and understanding in the process of domestic and global arbitration.

According to Professor James Coben, director of the Dispute Resolution Institute, “London is home to a plethora of international law firms and the prestigious London Court of International Arbitration.” And, Coben points out, “the SIA is widely acknowledged as the leading research center on international arbitration in Europe and, arguably, in the world.”

Underlying the Law School’s commitment is the recognition that arbitration is no longer a specialty process but instead has evolved to become a core feature of the global rule of law and of the domestic litigation of civil disputes in the United States. Long heralded by the U.S. Supreme Court as the primary alternative to judicial litigation, arbitration achieves adjudicatory justice where the courts have failed or do not exist. Indeed, arbitration has a universal standing in all areas of civil disputes—from contract and commercial claims to consumer transactions and employment relationships and even extending to civil rights. It also has become an effective mechanism for the resolution of trade policy and regulatory law disputes between governments and between governments and private individuals.

The month-long London program explores these themes with a foundation course covering the salient aspects of U.S. arbitration law as it relates to domestic and international disputes. Building on the foundation experience, three advanced courses on international commercial arbitration give students the opportunity to apply basic principles in specialty areas. All students also complete a capstone arbitration advocacy course, which uses an interactive workshop format to examine the advocacy challenges and opportunities unique to the arbitral process.

Bringing together a diverse group of law students and young lawyers from the U.S., Europe, and India, the program provides a systematic and comprehensive exposure to international commercial arbitration. It allows students to expand their remedial and ADR horizons beyond the framework of structured negotiations or the limitations of national law and court procedure. In today’s rapidly changing global business environment, this focus on private adjudicative forums is sorely needed.

 

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