Informed Consent to Dispute Resolution Agreements

On 20-21 June 2024 Gralf-Peter Calliess and Nicholas Mouttotos of the Institute for Commercial Law of the University of Bremen convene a transatlantic conference on ‘Informed Consent to Dispute Resolution Dispute Agreements’ in Bremen.

The Topic

Dispute Resolution Agreements (DRA) are a very special kind of contract. They allow parties to make a choice on the rights (applicable law) and remedies (competent forum, including procedural rules), which govern their relationship. Party autonomy, i.e. the freedom to enter into DRA, enables international merchants to provide for legal certainty and to bargain on the ‘law market’ for the most efficient institutional framework for their transactions. However, where DRA are included in the fine print of standard form contracts with less sophisticated contract parties, the question of legitimacy arises. For instance, where mandatory consumer rights or constitutional rights to a remedy are waived, a higher quality of consent might be required, one that is informed, instead of a simple manifestation of assent to the transaction. However, ‘informed’ consent has been criticized as a legal fiction.

DRA are regulated by diverse instruments on the national, supra-, and international level. Despite their similarities they are rarely discussed in a consistent fashion. The conference convenes leading scholars of private international law, international civil procedure, international arbitration, and standard form contracts from both sides of the Atlantic in an effort to develop a coherent framework.

Speakers

Following a keynote by Symeon C. Symeonides, Daniel D. Barnhizer, Hannah Buxbaum, Gralf-Peter Calliess, John F. Coyle, Nikitas Hatzimihail, Nancy S. Kim, Laura Little, Peter McColgan, Nicholas Mouttotos, Marta Pertegás Sender, Frederick Rieländer, Kermit Roosevelt, Stefan Thönissen, Camelia Toader, and Stephen J. Ware will present in the five sessions on theory, standard form contracts, choice of law, choice of jurisdiction, and arbitration agreements.

Registration

Places are limited. Please register no later than April 30, 2024 with your name, institution and billing address at knipperprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de. Registration fee is 150 €. After acceptance of your registration a bill will be sent. For more information please refer to our flyer.