• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.77
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• pp.43-67
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• 2018

Arbitration is one of alternative dispute resolution systems which settle a dispute by arbitrators(private persons) based on a contract between contracting parties without a judicial litigation system involved. As a valid arbitration agreement is an essential requirement for commencement of arbitration, the first thing to be determined is whether there is a valid arbitration agreement or not when a dispute is submitted. A consumer arbitration agreement usually exists as an arbitration clause in an adhesive contract between consumers and a seller. When consumers buy a product from a seller, they are requested to agree on a general terms and conditions which are unilaterally drafted by a seller in advance. These terms and conditions are not negotiable because it is an adhesive contract and consumers are placed in "take-it-or-leave-it" position. Therefore, even though there is an arbitration agreement between consumers and a seller, it has to be carefully considered whether it has a legal effect or not. In this respect, a court will examine if an arbitration agreement has procedural unconscionability and substantive unconscionability. Therefore, as U.S is a well-advanced and arbitration-friendly country, this paper analyzes four U.S cases to find out (i) what a court considers, (ii) how a court examines and interprets procedural and substantive unconscionability and (iii) if there has been a change in regard to a court's decision. By doing so, it will provide some suggestions and guidelines for a consumer arbitration in Korea.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.51-66
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• 2016

This paper considers how various types of patent disputes can be more efficiently resolved through arbitration, rather than litigation. For this analysis, it takes three types of patent disputes as a control sample - contractual disputes, infringement disputes and FRAND disputes - and assess how these disputes can be better resolved through arbitration in terms of several criteria, namely, the suitability of the decision-makers, the number of forums in which disputes have to separately decided and enforced, procedural flexibility and confidentiality. The paper takes into consideration that certain types of patent disputes, such as infringement disputes and FRAND disputes are unlikely to be subject to pre-existing arbitration agreements. In these types of disputes, parties may make the decision between arbitration and litigation based on strategic and tactical concerns, rather than legal ones. The paper concludes that, given this limitation, it is not possible to categorically state whether arbitration is more suitable than litigation for resolving patent disputes. The most sensible course to follow in adopting arbitration for patent disputes is for legal advisors to be familiar with the intricate benefits and pitfalls of arbitration in patent disputes, and to actively consider referring a dispute to arbitration over litigation after a dispute has arisen.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.61-72
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• 2017

In this study, the Commission proposed the mitigation of remedies by improving the role of medical disputes and preventing medical disputes. Medical disputes include a comprehensive description of medical malpractice, medical negligence, medical malpractice, and medical malpractice. Medical negligence refers to the neglect of medical care due to careless medical care in the treatment of patients, leading to patient injury and death. An inappropriate response in the process of international treatment could result in international trials and a decline in international credibility. In cases where medical disputes arise, health care is strictly necessary to determine the truth or absence of medical malpractice, and these expertise and experience are usually provided by emotion. With the neutral and objective emotions provided fairly and impartially, medical care expertise and experience can be fair, and the medical disputes can be resolved peacefully if the parties are trustworthy. The Health Care Dispute Mediation Committee should focus on enhancing the professionalism, objectivity, and reliability of medical care.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.403-424
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• 2004

In the solutions of civil disputes, there are decision of a court and alternative dispute resolution. Arbitration is one of alternative dispute resolutions. The decision of a court is the compulsory settlement and the solution by citizenship between two opposing parties, but arbitration is the autonomous and voluntary settlement by a private person, that is arbitrator. Besides these points, arbitration has various features in comparison with a decision of a court. The procedure of arbitration is not open to the public and single trial system guarantees speedy solution of disputes In the procedure of arbitration, arbitrator who pass judgement is selected and appointed by the parties to an affair. And there are questions how the arbitrator to become independent from them. Because Arbitration is not agreed solution which based on the concession between opposing two parties but imposed solution which is alike decision of a court. This study illustrates the system of challenge on arbitrator to guarantee independence of arbitrators.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.99-119
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• 2019

In recent times, the volume of cross-border e-commerce has witnessed an upward trend and has been accompanied by increased disputes, with cross-border e-commerce being characterized mainly by low value and large volume issues. For this reason, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) was formed to carry out dispute resolutions in cross-border e-commerce. A virtual multi-door ODR platform for small value, cross-border disputes in e-commerce is then proposed in this paper. For a couple of decades, researchers have tried to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Law. However, it turns out that they were faced with a couple of obstacles to integrate AI to Law since it is highly difficult to program AI to process the common sense of a human being. For example, AI cannot assimilate the affective side of a human being, and it is problematic to integrate a human being's common sense into the AI system. Considering this situation, this study puts forward an ODR model for cross-border e-commerce in the evolutionary perspective.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.107-128
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• 2023

International arbitration is a widely preferred alternative dispute resolution mechanism for many desirable characteristics, such as, party autonomy, procedural flexibility, ability of parties to select their arbitrators, as well as, finality of arbitral awards, among others. However, because arbitral tribunals derive their authority and jurisdiction from the parties' agreement(s) to arbitrate their dispute(s), arbitral tribunals lack coercive powers that national courts have. At times, arbitral tribunals have to deal with circumstances of non-production and/or spoliation of evidence, and due to the lack of coercive authority, it may be challenging to compel such recalcitrant parties to produce the relevant evidence and/or witnesses. Therefore, adverse inferences drawn against the recalcitrant parties may be the most effective sanctions. This article explores the sources of authority for arbitral tribunals to make such adverse inferences and argues for a precise set of rules or standard to be consistently applied by the arbitral tribunals in order to increase predictability in arbitral proceedings. Additionally, some of the critical issues when considering adverse inferences as sanctions are discussed.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.3-35
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• 2017

For recent years, several disputes between Korean consumers and multinational companies have arisen. Since the disputes were big and material that children's safety was at issue, a question started if Korean law properly has protected consumers' rights against multinational companies. While the Korean legal society tried to legislate punitive compensation with this concern, the U.S. Supreme Court reached an interesting case law regarding consumer contracts. A recent trend on consumer contracts in the United States shows that general terms have arbitration clause with class action waiver. As much as international arbitration has worked as the most effective resolution in international commercial disputes, the concept is still foreign and the experts are not approachable to lay individual consumers. However, class action in arbitration can hugely help for lay individual consumers to bring a case before arbitration tribunal. California courts consistently showed the analysis that the practical impact of prohibiting class action in arbitration clause is to ban lay individual consumers from fighting for their rights. However, the Supreme Court held that the arbitration clause shall be enforced as parties agree even if consumers practically cannot fight for their rights in the end. Even though consumer contracts are a typical example of lack of parity and of adhesive contract, the Supreme Court still applies liberalism that parties are equal in power and free to agree. This case law has a crucial implication since Korean consumers buy goods and services from the U.S. and other countries in everyday life. Accordingly, they are deemed to agree on the dispute resolution clauses, which might violate their constitutional right to bring their cases before the adjudication tribunal. This issue could be more important than adopting punitive compensation because consumers' rights are not necessarily governed by Korean law but by the governing law of the general terms and conditions chosen and written by the multinational companies. Thus this paper studies and analyzes the practical reality of international arbitration and influence of arbitration clause with class action waiver with the U.S. Supreme Court and California case laws.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.75-93
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• 2001

The advantages of arbitration such as promptness, economy and flexibility apply to the disputes arising from corporate governance between shareholders and a corporation. The confidentiality of arbitration can be particularly highlighted in the disputes among the members inside corporation. But it appears that the shareholders believe litigation the best way to pursue liabilities of managers of corporation and improve the system of corporate governance. And it is claimed that the current litigation system lacks the implementation of shareholders rights due to structural deficiency and therefore need bring class actions into the system of Korean jurisprudence. The OECD, which afforded the rescue finances to Korea, also recommended shareholder class actions as a way to improve corporate governance. Class actions have merits but even advanced countries consider the changes of existing system or only stay class actions in the stage of discussion. Rather, legal experts urge arbitration to be used more frequently and the Courts also approved the dispute resolutions of the disputes as to corporate governance through arbitration. There is no report in Korea that arbitration was used to resolve the disputes between shareholders and the managers, or between shareholders and corporation, which is listed in the Stock Market. There only are the debates for bring class actions into the judicial system between NGOs and the organizations of corporate managers. But arbitration has greater advantages in resolving the disputes among the members of corporation that any other methods for dispute resolution. Arbitration can interpret flexibly the mandatory provisions of the Statutes of Security and the Code of Commerce to meet the needs of parties involved, which is not possible to the Courts. Arbitration can issue the award to meet the equity of the parties. And arbitration can avoid a resolution of All or Nothing by fully considering the specific situations of Korean corporations(such as family-dominated management) and can issue the award beneficial to all parties of shareholders, managers and corporation. Thus it should be sought to resolve the disputes as to corporate governance through arbitration.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.119-136
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• 2015

The contracting parties must be provided a litigation scheme in order to resolve a dispute. This means taking advantage of effective measures for mediation or arbitration. A lease transaction is likely to occur mainly after a dispute. It is necessary to take the appropriate measures in advance. In general, when a variety of contracts are created, conflicts arise and disputes have to be resolved through mediation and arbitration documents, and adjustment or intervention is called for. Arbitration system is a system that is established based on the trust of the arbitral tribunal. For such system, quality education for enhancing professionalism required of the arbitrator is important. A party responding to an arbitration agreement presents a problem. The current system must ensure that there are no disadvantaged parties. However, a party must depend on an arbitration agreement that is part of the law rescue system. A litigation support by the local Bar Association must be carried out. It should be notified of the contents of the contract to select a strategy that will best resolve the conflict. In the case of lease transactions, there is a need to create a scheme to make a standard agreement that inserts an arbitration clause. Lease sale and purchase agreement or lease agreement is a form of contract that has been frequently used. Here, the arbitration agreement clause for a lawyer that will serve as arbitrator should be inserted. It is a scheme that can be activated for individuals in poor areas. In addition, it is possible to see it taking a scheme to take advantage of the lawyer system for the future of the town. The Attorney System of a town is a system that the Korean Bar Association, Legal Department has put in place since 2013. If a real estate trade dispute occurs, the role of the intermediary attorney should be to carry out his duties efficiently. In the case of real estate transaction conflicts, the lawyer of the village should be registered as the arbitrator. It is important to establish a basis of regulations through this type of real estate transaction accident analysis. Before proceeding with various adjustment systems, it is desirable to expand the arbitration region. Now we need a realtor amendment. It is the part where fragmentation of intermediary qualification is required, along with the eligibility of a subdivision.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-52
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• 2010

Medical Dispute Arbitration Law had been debated on its legislation several times since Korean Medical Association's submission of the bill to the National Assembly in 1988, eventually in December, 2009, passed the National Assembly Standing Committee and was laid before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and thus its legislation is now near at hand. During the long process, it has provided a hot issue with our society. And yet, Medical Dispute Arbitration Law has differed considerably in legislative content depending on the main body of proceeding the enactment, which subsequently was given the mixed comments of 'Act on Malpractice-related Damage Relief' or 'Medical Indemnity Act', and this legislative bill also cannot be free from this debate. It is desirable that medical disputes between doctors and patients be resolved through conciliation between the parties concerned. But, because reaching a compromise is difficult owing to deep emotional conflicts between the parties, difficulties in investigating a cause and requiring a high amount of settlement money, etc., it is inevitable to seek a resolution by third party intervention. By the way, such an arbitration by third party is based on the compromise of the interested parties and thus has a limitation of not being able to satisfy both parties completely. Therefore, the legislative bill made for arbitration of medical disputes between the parties will have to prepare an institutional system for the parties to easily understand and accept. Also, problems occurred in the legislative bill will have to be corrected through an in-depth discussion in order for the legislative bill to work as an effective system.