U.S. Judicial Interim Relief Supporting International Arbitration: Toward Solidarity

Grayson Noyes*

Student Writing Prize in Comparative and International Law, Outstanding Note Award

Must district courts be able to issue interim relief supporting international arbitration? This Note answers in the affirmative. The text of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the Supreme Court’s determination of its purpose, most arbitral institutional rules, and pro-arbitration policy command so. But not all circuit courts agree. Namely, the Eighth Circuit has ruled that district courts err when issuing interim relief supporting arbitration absent qualifying language in an arbitration agreement, and the Third Circuit has held prejudgment attachment unavailable to support arbitral proceedings governed by the New York Convention. Part I of this Note explores the circuit split in a series of disputes concerning domestic arbitration under the FAA: the “Merrill Lynch lawsuits.” Part II then examines the circuit split’s manifestation in disputes concerning international arbitration under the New York Convention. Part III concludes with a call for the Supreme Court to resolve the circuit split by permitting district courts to issue interim relief supporting arbitration.

*Head Articles Editor, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law; J.D., Columbia Law School 2026.