With the Eleventh Circuit’s revision, using Section 1782 to request the production of evidence in private international commercial arbitrations remains uncertain.

On January 10, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated its 2012 decision allowing an Ecuadorean telecoms operator to use Section 1782 of the Federal Rules of Judicial Procedure to compel discovery against an air freight carrier in support of commercial arbitration proceedings taking place in Ecuador.1 Though the appeals court reaffirmed the district court’s order to compel the production of documents and deposing of witnesses, it did so under alternative grounds, leading to increased uncertainty regarding Section 1782’s application to private international commercial arbitration.