Parties to Latin American commercial transactions have long needed a clear and detailed guide to the dispute resolution mechanisms and procedures available through the many relevant regional institutions that operate in South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This incomparable book meets this need. In clear, non-expert English, it explains the different dispute resolution procedures of which companies and their counsel can take advantage in the course of doing business. The author pays close attention to the underlying treaties and protocols, some of which are not available in English.
Among the many valuable resources provided are the following: an overview of regional and sub-regional institutions relevant to international dispute resolution; description of other institutions which provide investment guarantee protection and dispute resolution services, including the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its sister institutions; insight into the way each institution is structured and how each legislates for its member states; analysis of substantive and procedural rights available to investors and states under the rules of each institution; and, details on how information can be obtained from the respective institutions for the purposes of further research.
It also provides: rules of operation of supra-national/sitting courts and ad hoc tribunals, including the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (IACAC), the Andean Court of Justice, the Caribbean Court of Justice, Mercosur's established arbitral tribunals and Permanent Review Tribunal, and the Central American Court of Justice; analysis of major Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the Group of Three Agreement, the US-CAFTA-DR, and the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA); investment protection afforded by Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Free Trade Agreements, with a country-by-country compendium of the BITs and FTAs signed by each; and discussion of regional initiatives of relevance to future policy-making. Especially valuable coverage includes information that has been dispersed and difficult to locate in English, such as details of MIGA's dispute mediation service and recent changes in Central American Common Market rules.
As a complete and consolidated text on the bilateral, multilateral and sub-regional institutions that operate in Latin America and the Caribbean, International Dispute Resolution in Latin America: An Institutional Overview will be of great interest to corporate counsel, international lawyers, and business people, as well as to students of international dispute resolution and international affairs. Public officials in the region will appreciate the book's assistance in enabling them to decipher the institutional labyrinth which currently exists in Latin America.