Three Meanings of the Indefinite Article, Three Judgments and the Global Reach of US Anti-Trust Laws

摘要

Recently it has been popular to criticise the United States for forcing its values onto others, but this has been a political or perhaps even a humanitarian debate. It has not, as yet, been a debate sparked by the judicial interpretation of an Act that came into force more than 20 years ago. However, this may be about to change. Waiting in the wings of the stage of the US Supreme Court, is a case that could have a global impact for those who suffer loss at the hands of cartels. This article examines this case, asking how it may change the current law, where it has come from, what the Supreme Court will have to decide and what its overall impact could be. The claims are based on a particular interpretation of the phrase "gives rise to a claim" contained in section 6 of The Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982 (FTAIA). In particular, the arguments of the parties focus on what the word 'a' in this context actually means. The debates in the courts have given rise to three different meanings of the word 'a'.