IV Trust Arbitration as a Matter of International Law, 20 International Enforcement of an Arbitration Provision in a Trust: Questions Involving the New York Convention

Abstract

This chapter considers whether an arbitration clause that requires all disputes arising out of a trust instrument to be arbitrated can be enforced under the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, more commonly known as the New York Convention. To address the question of whether a mandatory arbitration provision in a trust instrument falls within the scope of the Convention, a court must consider: whether the dispute is capable of settlement by arbitration; whether there is an agreement in writing to arbitrate the subject of the dispute and whether that agreement binds all the parties to arbitration; whether the dispute is foreign; in some cases, whether the agreement arises out of a legal relationship, contractual or not, which is considered ‘commercial’; and (v) in some cases, whether the agreement provides for arbitration in the territory of a state party to the convention (Contracting State).