The Draft Hague Judgments Convention: Some Perspectives from Arbitration

Abstract

This article analyses the draft Hague Judgments Convention against the backdrop of arbitral jurisprudence. It points to certain problems that might arise in the Convention's functions. Although the draft Convention represents a significant improvement over the status quo in relation to international commercial litigation, it remains subject to a number of potential problems, in as much as it does not adequately deal with the issues of parallel jurisdiction, inconsistent verdicts, consent, or interim relief, which cause significant problems in commercial parties. In the worst case, these problems could lead to the convention not commending itself for adoption, which could have adverse consequences for commercial dispute resolution as a whole.