Parsons & Whittemore Overseas Co. v. Societe Generale de L’Industrie du Papier (RAKTA), 508 F.2d 969 (2d Cir. 1974) case brief

Parsons & Whittemore Overseas Co. v. Societe Generale de L’Industrie du Papier (RAKTA), 508 F.2d 969 (2d Cir. 1974)

-       Here, a party tried to avoid enforcement of an arbitral award against it
-       The case examines the reasons why the party believes that the award should not be enforced

• It would be contrary to public policy (the court finds that this exception to enforcement should be construed narrowly)
• The party had an inadequate opportunity to present its defense (due process analysis)
• The subject matter that was arbitrated was not within the agreement to submit to arbitration (again, this exception should be narrowly construed)
• The award is in manifest disregard of the law

-       All these reasons are rejected and the award is affirmed

Examples:
-       Iranian students taking over the US embassy and took hostages

• The new Iranian government ratified the action, which violated international law concerning humanitarian law and the rights of diplomats
• What were Jimmy Carter’s options here?
  • Negotiation
  • Mediation – there was the Algiers Accord, which set up an Iran-US Claims Tribunal; this was a flexible, informal process
  • Conciliation
  • Arbitration

-       Pan AM 103 (over Lockerbie, Scotland)

• There were mediation efforts
  • Search for a neutral venue for the trial: Libya refused to extradite its nationals to Scotland, but agreed to go to the Netherlands, and an area of the Netherlands “became” Scottish territory for the duration of the trial (used Scottish judges and procedure)
• Recently – will Libya compensate families?