It is a rite of spring for the Delaware Legislature to consider amendments to the General Corporation Law that governs most U.S. corporations. Usually, the amendments simply refine the plumbing of corporate law to facilitate capital formation and efficient deal-making.

This year is different. The Legislature has already enacted into law an important initiative in alternative dispute resolution and is set to deliberate on controversial new rules applicable to stockholder litigation and postmerger appraisal actions.

On April 3, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed into law the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act. More than a year ago, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit invalidated a predecessor statute that allowed judges on the Court of Chancery to resolve arbitrations confidentially, on the ground that the law unconstitutionally impaired the public's right of access to civil trials.