In the case of The Bremen et al. v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 1971, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of enforcing a forum-selection clause in an international commercial contract. Zapata Off-Shore Co., a Houston-based company, had contracted Unterweser Reederei GMBH, a German corporation to tow its drilling rig from Louisiana to Italy. Their agreement stipulated that any disputes would be resolved in London courts but when issues arose during transport causing damage to the rig, Zapata filed suit in Florida instead. Unterweser sought dismissal based on their contractual agreement for dispute resolution location and was initially denied by lower courts who deemed such clauses as "unreasonable and unjust". However, upon reaching the Supreme Court it was decided that unless there is strong evidence that enforcement would be unreasonable or unjust under U.S law or would contravene public policy; forum selection clauses should be respected as part of freedom to contract internationally.

In the dissenting opinion for The Bremen et al. v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., Justice Hugo Black disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a forum selection clause in an international contract, arguing that it was contrary to American public policy and legal tradition. He contended that such clauses could potentially be used by powerful corporations to exploit smaller entities by forcing them into unfavorable jurisdictions where they would have little chance of winning their case or obtaining fair compensation. Furthermore, he argued that upholding these clauses might discourage parties from entering into contracts out of fear of being subjected to foreign laws and courts, thereby hindering international commerce rather than promoting it as intended by the majority ruling.