Month: March 2012

Update: International Litigation and Arbitration Trends – A Survey of Surveys

Recently, I posted the idea of a “survey of surveys” on international dispute resolution. You may be interested to participate in the most recent of these surveys:

The School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary, University of London currently conducts its 2012 International Arbitration Survey “Current and Best Practices in the Arbitral Process”. The questionnaire is available online and remains open until May 31, 2012.

Art Law – Federal Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Nazi Victim on Restitution Claims; Finds No Time Bar Applies

In a judgment handed down on March 16, 2012, the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) ordered the German Historcial Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum) in Berlin to return the art collection of Jewish art collector Hans Sachs to his son. The Federal Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision of the Berlin Court of Appeals (Kammergericht). This brings a long-running litigation to an end.

The Porsche/Volkswagen Saga – News from the Legal Battlefields

Thanks to Porsche’s attempt to take over Volkswagen with an elaborate option strategy, high-stakes shareholder suits have finally come to Germany. International financial investors have brought actions against Porsche and Volkswagen, seeking damages in the order of several billions. The claimants argue, in short, that they suffered losses when Porsche cornered the market with the use of fancy derivatives and failed to disclose the true position it had taken. Read More

International Litigation and Arbitration Trends – A Survey of Surveys

Fulbright & Jaworksi have just published their most recent Litigation Trends Survey Report. Fulbright & Jaworski have, since 2004, conducted between 300 and 400 interviews with in-house counsel in the United States and Europe. In this year’s report, they look back on eight years of data “on attitudes and strategies in relation to international arbitrations”. Read More