Reference no: EM133185813

Determining country of jurisdiction for international business disputes.

A California based company is expanding quickly and has just made its first large export sale. All its sales and procurement contracts up to now have contained a clause providing that if any disputes arise under the contract, they will be settled under California law and that any litigation will be in California courts. 

The new  foreign customer, who is Italian, objects to these all-California solutions by paying for a large volume of the product, so before finalizing the sales contract, she wants the California company to compromise and allow Italian law and courts to govern and handle any disputes.

Critical thinking questions:

1. You are the CEO of the California company, and you very much want this large export order. You are pleased with the service your law firm has provided, but you know it has no international experience. What are the various forms of dispute resolution available to your California company? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each for your company?
2.  You must decide whether to use only California law for settling litigation or to allow the foreign customer's home nation as the venue for litigation. Would your decision be different if the customer were from China? From Russia? From the United Kingdom? Why or why not?