Second Circuit Holds That Federal Law Does Not Compel Discovery In Private International Commercial Arbitrations

The Second Circuit has reaffirmed its prior holding that a private international commercial arbitration is not “a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. Section 1782(a), which is the statute that authorizes federal courts to compel discovery. Thus, while acknowledging that other courts have taken a different view, the Second Circuit in its decision in In Re: Application and Petition of Hanwei Guo for an Order to take Discovery for Use in a Foreign Proceeding Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1782 concludes that a party to a private international arbitration cannot compel discovery under federal statute.