Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s International Dispute Resolution Group today released the 2022 edition of the Debevoise International Arbitration Clause Handbook, a key resource for drafting and negotiating dispute resolution clauses in international agreements.

Drawing upon the Group’s collective experience drafting and enforcing such clauses around the world, the updated Handbook offers model language that can be tailored to different business objectives, together with detailed commentary explaining the strategic considerations behind that language.  The Handbook addresses common issues that can arise in complex agreements—such as multiparty and multi-contract disputes, confidentiality, interim relief, contracts with States, enforcement, and tiered clauses in light of recent developments in major national laws and institutional rules.  It also includes a comparison of frequently-used arbitral seats and rules.

The 2022 Handbook also includes two additional resources, each recognized as benchmarks in the field.  The Debevoise Efficiency Protocol offers more than 25 specific practices to help streamline and focus the proceedings at each step of a dispute, from the formation of the tribunal to the hearing and potential settlement, and provides insights into how parties can benefit from arbitration’s inherent flexibility to achieve their strategic goals without compromising the fairness of the process. The Debevoise Protocol to Promote Cybersecurity, in turn, provides guidance on how to manage the risk of cybersecurity threats during proceedings and helpful procedures for disclosing data breaches in an arbitration setting.

Together, these documents provide a comprehensive framework for an effective arbitration process that can be customized to any agreement, at both the contract drafting stage and after a dispute has arisen. 

For over 40 years, the Debevoise International Dispute Resolution Group has consistently achieved for its clients some of the largest and most significant awards in international arbitration and public international law. Named the Chambers USA and Benchmark Litigation 2021 International Arbitration Firm of the Year, a Law 360 2021 Practice Group of the Year, and winner of Global Arbitration Review’s “International Arbitration Practice that Impressed” category in 2020, the practice handles a broad range of matters, including international commercial and treaty arbitration, public international law and complex commercial litigation across a diverse array of industries.