Forum and governing law come first
Most international commercial disputes begin with the contract's dispute resolution clause, if there is one. Many cross-border contracts choose arbitration under institutional rules such as those of the ICC or the ICDR, and name a seat that determines which courts supervise the process. Others choose the courts of a particular country, and some say nothing, leaving the forum to be fought over. Governing law is a separate question from forum, and for sales of goods between businesses in different countries, an international sales convention may apply automatically unless the contract excludes it.
Enforcement shapes strategy
Before investing in a dispute, it helps to ask where the other side's assets are and whether a result can be enforced there. Arbitral awards often travel further than court judgments, because the New York Convention obligates member countries to recognize them subject to limited defenses. Recognition of foreign court judgments is less uniform and depends on the law of the country where enforcement is sought. Service of process abroad can also take time and, in many countries, must follow treaty procedures. Preserve the contract, purchase orders, shipping and payment records, and correspondence, including messages in other languages, which may need certified translation later.
Early choices in a cross-border matter
At the outset we work out which forum the contract points to, whether interim relief such as freezing assets or preserving goods is needed, and whether negotiation is worth pursuing while the commercial relationship still exists. We look at what evidence sits abroad and how it can be obtained. A federal statute allows parties to some foreign court proceedings to seek discovery in the United States, but the Supreme Court has held that it does not reach private commercial arbitration, so the route depends on the forum. We also discuss cost, because cross-border cases often carry translation and local counsel expenses that a domestic case does not.
