Recognizing & Enforcing Cross-Border Dispute Resolutions: Weighing in on International Law Treaties

New York City Bar Association Podcast

Muhammad Faridi, President of the New York City Bar Association, is joined by Boaz Morag, a Counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and one of the lead drafters of a recent City Bar report analyzing for the Office of the Legal Advisor in the U.S. Department of State three private international law treaties: the Hague Convention on Choice of Courts Agreements (COCA), the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Judgments Convention), and the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (Singapore Convention). These treaties deal with the cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and mediated settlement agreements. We investigate the purpose and impact of these treaties on current practice in this country and on U.S. litigants who seek to enforce U.S. courts judgments abroad, the status of the treaties, and the detailed recommendations provided in the City Bar report. The episode provides an in-depth exploration of the potential benefits of these conventions for litigants seeking to have their judgments and settlements enforced internationally as well as the intricacies involved in implementing these treaties in the United States. Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/3zWnD7b Read the City Bar Report on Three Private International Law Treaties here: https://bit.ly/4c5NQO2 00:00 Introduction to the Discussion 00:56 Meet Boaz Morag: Background and Career 03:54 The Role of the State Department and the City Bar 06:14 Introduction to the Three Treaties 07:56 Deep Dive into COCA and the Judgments Convention 12:12 Understanding the Judgments Convention 17:53 Criticisms and Concerns about COCA 29:28 The Singapore Convention on Mediation 34:49 Implementation Challenges in the U.S. 48:14 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections