The growing acceptance of the concept of transnational rules, be they substantive or procedural, has directly contributed to a substantial decrease of the influence of local norms. Transnational principles often override domestic law, and the arbitral process sometimes takes precedence over court decisions. Moreover, the exceptional development of investment arbitration has called into question traditional values of commercial arbitration such as confidentiality and the privity of arbitral proceedings. Widespread publication of awards rendered has also rejuvenated the debate on the value of arbitral awards as precedents. This book critically explores the extent to which these phenomena contribute to the creation of a truly uniform international arbitration law.
The book deals with confidentiality as one of the most controversial issues in international commercial arbitration. On the one hand, it is widely recognized that confidentiality is an important advantage of arbitration which contributes to its attractiveness. On the other hand, there is no uniform regulation in national legislations, arbitration rules, and other relevant sources as to the scope or even to the existence of a duty of confidentiality. A uniform approach to confidentiality of international commercial arbitration is possible. The best way to achieve it would be through harmonization of national arbitration laws which should impose a confidentiality obligation subject to certain exceptions. The purpose of maintaining confidentiality would be to protect primarily the parties from undesirable leaks that can be avoided and to protect arbitration as an institution. As to a systematic publication of arbitral awards without identifying the parties’ identity, it is desirable and should be the goal.
The New York Arbitration Convention of 1958 is the cornerstone of international commercial arbitration. Although judicial interpretation of the Convention has proceeded since the publication of Albert Jan van den Berg's classic commentary, his extraordinarily thorough analysis remains the preeminent work on the application and enforcement aspects of the Convention. Setting out to repair what van den Berg calls "an undesirable degree of uncertainty" in judicial interpretation of the Convention, his analysis takes a comparative approach to relevant court decisions in the contracting states. For each of three main subject areas - the field of application, enforcement of the agreement, and enforcement of the award - he examines the various issues, explaining the relevant Convention provisions and analyzing and comparing the relevant court decisions. For issues on which a consensus is lacking, he offers an analysis leading to a single valid interpretation. Many of these interpretations have become virtually settled in current practice. In addition to case law, the author takes into account the legislative history of the 1958 Conference and the provisions of earlier arbitration conventions. This is a true classic in the sense that its immediate usefulness has never flagged over the nearly three decades of its availability. Arbitrators and judges everywhere have leaned on it, and continue to lean on it, for the depth and clarity of its understanding of the law of international commercial arbitration. While it is a standard academic work in the field, its proven great practical value to jurists and practitioners persists.
Over the last half-century, as UNCITRAL official, professor, arbitrator and father of the Willem C. Vis Arbitration Moot, Eric Bergsten has been at the forefront of progress in international commercial arbitration. Now, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, the international arbitration and sales law community has gathered to honour him with this substantial collection of new essays on the many facets of the field to which he continues to bring his intellect, integrity, inquisitive nature, eye for detail, precision, and commitment to public service. Celebrating the long-standing and sustained contribution Eric Bergsten has made in international commercial law, international arbitration, and legal education, more than fifty colleagues - among them quite a few of the best-known arbitrators and arbitration academics in the world - present 45 pieces that, individually both engaging and incisive, collectively present a thorough and far-reaching account of the state of the field today, with contributions covering international sales law, commercial law, commercial arbitration, and investment arbitration. In addition, nine essays on issues in legal education mirror the great importance of the renowned Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Eric's Vienna project which has offered a life-changing experience for so many young lawyers from all over the world.
Shows how 'dirty' challenge tactics are made viable primarily by the prevalence of a judicially derived test for bias which focuses on appearances, rather than facts and He argues that the most commonly used test of bias, the 'reasonable apprehension' test, makes it easy to allege a lack of impartiality and independence.
International Arbitration: Law and Practice (Third Edition) provides comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the basic principles and legal doctrines, and the practice, of international arbitration. The book contains a systematic, but concise, treatment of all aspects of the arbitral process, including international arbitration agreements, international arbitral proceedings and international arbitral awards. The Third Edition guides both students and practitioners through the entire arbitral process, beginning with drafting, enforcing and interpreting international arbitration agreements, to selecting arbitrators and conducting arbitral proceedings, to recognizing, enforcing and seeking to annul arbitral awards. The book is written in clear, accessible language, suited for both law students and non-specialist practitioners, as well as more experienced readers. This highly regarded work addresses both international commercial arbitration and the related fields of investment and state-to-state arbitration and is essential reading for any student of international arbitration and any practitioner seeking a complete introduction to the field. The Third Edition has been comprehensively updated to include recent legislative amendments, judicial decisions and arbitral awards. Among other things, the book provides detailed treatment of the New York Convention, the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, all leading institutional arbitration rules (including ICC, SIAC, LCIA, AAA and others), the ICSID Convention and ICSID Arbitration Rules, and judicial decisions from leading jurisdictions. The Third Edition is integrated with the author’s classic International Commercial Arbitration and with the online Born International Arbitration Lectures, enabling students, teachers and practitioners to explore particular topics in more detail. About the Author: Gary B. Born is the world’s leading authority on international arbitration and litigation. He has practiced extensively in both fields in Europe, the United States, Asia and elsewhere. He is the author of International Commercial Arbitration (Kluwer Law International 3rd ed. 2021), International Arbitration and Forum Selection Agreements: Drafting and Enforcing (Kluwer Law International 6th ed. 2021), International Commercial Arbitration: Cases and Materials (Aspen 3rd ed. 2021) and International Civil Litigation in United States Courts (Aspen 6th ed. 2018).
It often seems today that no dispute is barred from resolution by arbitration. Even the fundamental question of whether a dispute falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of a judicial body may itself be arbitrable. Arbitrability is thus an elusive concept; yet a systematic study of it, as this book shows, yields innumerable guidelines and insights that are of substantial value to arbitral practice. Although the book takes the form of a collection of essays, it is designed as a comprehensive commentary on practical issues that emerge from the idea of arbitrability. Fifteen leading academics and practitioners from Europe and the United States each explore different facets of arbitrability always with a perspective open to international developments and comparative evaluation of standards. The presentation falls into two parts: in the first the focus is on the general features of arbitrability, its rationale and the laws applicable to it. In the second, arbitrability is specifically examined in the context of administrative, criminal, corporate, IP, financial, commercial, and criminal law This book has its origins in an International Conference on Arbitrability held at Athens in September 2005. Seven papers presented there are here reviewed and updated, and nine others are added. The subject of the book and arbitrability and is one that is much talked about, but seldom if ever given the in-depth treatment presented here. Arbitrators and other practitioners in the field will welcome the way the analysis moves logically from theory to practice regarding every issue, and academics will recognize a definitive treatment of arbitrability as understood and applied in the settlement of disputes today.
Arbitration is an essential component in business. In an age when transparency is a maxim, important issues which the laws governing arbitration currently fail to address are the extent to which disclosure of information can be constrained by private agreement along with the extent to which the duty to preserve confidentiality can be stretched. Absent a coherent legal framework and extensive qualitative and quantitative data, it is equally difficult to suggest and predict future directions. This book offers a tool for attaining centralised access to otherwise fragmentary and dispersed material, as well as a comprehensive analysis and detailed exposition of the position in relation to confidentiality in arbitration in the jurisdictions of England, USA, France and Germany.
IAI Series No. 2 The International Arbitration Institute (IAI) series on international arbitration is a new periodic series of publications that will focus on cutting edge issues and developments in international arbitration. About the IAI: The International Arbitration Institute (IAI), an organization created under the auspices of the Comité Français de ľ Arbitrage (CFA), was created to promote exchanges in international arbitration. The IAI is designed to promote exchanges on current issues in the field of international commercial arbitration. Its activities include the regular organization of international conferences, colloquiums, as well as conducting various research projects. About the Book: Anti-suit injunctions are a device, originally found in common law countries, whereby a court - which retains its jurisdiction or anticipates to do so and which seeks to protect that jurisdiction or, more generally, the jurisdiction of the forum it deems to be the most appropriate - orders a party to refrain from bringing a claim before the courts of another State or before an arbitral tribunal or, if the party has already brought such a claim, orders that party to withdraw from, or the arbitrators to suspend, the proceedings. In the past few years, the use of anti-suit injunctions in the context of international arbitration has been spreading at a disturbing pace. The courts of many common law countries but also those of civil law tradition frequently resort to this device at a party's request, in order to disrupt the arbitration process or resist the enforcement of the award. How best to resolve those conflicts arising as a result of national courts' differing perspectives on the validity and scope of certain arbitration agreements? Are anti-suit injunctions in conformity with the requirements of public international law? When the courts of certain States enjoin a party to refrain from proceeding with an arbitration, should other courts enjoin them not to enjoin, or should they, like the U.S. Court of Appeal for the 5th Circuit in the Pertamina case, exercise a commandable "self-restriction"? These are just a few of the issues addressed in Anti-Suit Injunctions in International Arbitration.
The analysis thoroughly covers the major issues that have arisen in the application of the Convention, including the following: - the use of reservations made by Contracting States; - the distinctions between recognition and enforcement and between recognition sought at the seat of the arbitration and outside the seat; - the role of the courts in reviewing arbitral awards and, in particular, the Convention's focus on safeguarding due process standards; - the more favourable rightsA" principle embodied in Article VII(1); - the relevance of forum shopping and asset spotting to the application of the Convention; and - the role of formalities and formalism. The end result is an invaluable work that will prove enormously useful to all international commercial arbitration practitioners and scholars, regardless of location.
