The trouble started when a French–Polish joint venture chose an English dispute resolution clause, then partnered with a German company under an Austrian arbitral clause, and negotiated a settlement with a Swiss arbitral clause. To top it all off, Poland’s Elektrim went bankrupt, adding a subtle overlay of European Union law. The key E.U. question is whether to apply Polish law, which would dismiss the bankrupt firm from all arbitrations, or the law of the arbitral forum, which might not. A Swiss tribunal dismissed Elektrim under Polish law, but an arbitration panel in England kept Elektrim in the case under English law (while yet more arbitration raged in Vienna). This year the English panel held that Elektrim must pay Vivendi nearly $2.5 billion for intentional breach of their investment agreement—topping our list of big awards. Now the English Court of Appeal is weighing the E.U. question and might refer it to the European Court of Justice. “This situation inevitably lends itself to the use of arbitration in a strategic manner,” says Vivendi counsel Caline Mouawad of Salans.

And how. The nearly 250 cases in the 2009 Arbitration Scorecard—all either commercial disputes with stakes of at least $500 million or treaty disputes with stakes of at least $100 million—overspill the bounds of their charts in every direction. The grandest battles, whether waged over cell towers or oil derricks, often cannot be contained on one battlefield, and multifront war has become the norm for the largest cases. [See Treaty Arbitrations and Contract Arbitrations.]

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