The accompanying charts show 59 large treaty arbitrations and 71 large international contract arbitrations, ranked by the amount in controversy, from the period January 2003 through April 2005. (Multiple entries tied for fiftieth place.) The "amount in controversy" is an estimate of the total of the amounts claimed by both sides. (All amounts were converted to U.S. currency at 2005 exchange rates.) All disputes were either resolved in that period or continued to be active at press time. A dispute is considered active if the arbitral award is being contested in domestic courts. Disputes were excluded if they were resolved in early 2003 and fully covered by the Focus Europe survey of June 2003.
A dispute is classified as a "treaty arbitration" if it is primarily grounded in a treaty (usually but not always an investment treaty). A dispute is classified as a "contract arbitration" if it is primarily grounded in a contract, even if one of the parties is a nation.
In instances where multiple arbitrations arise from the same underlying matter, we have elected to list the arbitrations separately, instead of grouping them together. Some examples are the cases originating in Electricité de FranceÕs put and call option agreements with shareholders of Edison S.p.A. and the myriad disputes involving the inactive Dabhol power plant in India.
In total, we have assembled data on 130 cases, including 59 treaty arbitrations with stakes of at least $100 million and 71 contract arbitrations with stakes of at least $300 million. Our rankings of law firms and individual arbitrators are based on the full set of cases.
We compiled the entries by asking lawyers at a wide range of law firms to supply information on arbitrations that they were working on. In many cases, we were able to uncover more data in arbitration or court documents, securities filings, media reports, or interviews. A caveat to readers: Because of the confidentiality of most arbitrations, in many cases we have relied on information provided by just one side in the arbitration. We do not identify the sources who provided us with the information.
Here is a short guide to abbreviations that appear on the charts:
AAA: American Arbitration Association International Center for Dispute Resolution (New York) BIT: bilateral investment treaty ICC: International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration (Paris) ICSID: International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Washington, D.C.)
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