The Pros And Cons Of International Commercial Arbitration

Although the arbitrator’s final awards are legally binding, an unhappy party of arbitration may still go to court under certain circumstances.  As mentioned by Fallon & McConnell, “unless one party protests that there was a gross injustice, collusion, or fraud, arbitration that is specified by a contract can be converted into a legal judgment.  This requires a petition to the appropriate court” (n.d., p. 388).  As expected, this can become costly for the person who is seeking to appeal.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is an increasingly popular option that allows people to resolve disputes outside of court in a cooperative manner. ADR can be faster, cheaper and less stressful than going to court. [Most importantly, the use of ADR can provide greater satisfaction with the way disputes are resolved. ADR has been gradually evolving within the Fresno Superior Court for the past several years. In 1999 the Court recognized a need for greater public access to dispute resolution for cases and established an ADR Department. This

After carefully considering the situation in both plaintiff (Eunice) and defendant (RFYL), arbitration should be an effective Alternative Dispute Resolution in

this essay I will attempt to examine and analyse the effectiveness of international courts and

In both developed and underdeveloped economies, there is a need to put regulations which ensure that profits are not abnormally earned at the expense of the innocent clients. It is therefore the mandate of the territorial authorities to put in place measures that introduce checks and balances in all trades. The respective companies or business must also follow the same suit lest they find themselves in the crossroads of law. However,

One of the foundations of arbitration is that awards rendered are final and not subject to appeal before the courts. In this respect, Article 5 of the UNCITRAL Model Law provides for minimal intervention, and says, “In matters governed by this Law, no court shall intervene except where so provided in this Law“. As a result, the grounds upon which a court may set aside an award or refuse to recognize and enforce the same are limited. Article 34 of the Model Law and Article V of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards provide the restrictive grounds for such relief.

The use of ADR also involves the active participation of the litigants in the search for solution to their conflict. This gives the process an advantage of generating a solution that is fair to both parties and which can at the same time restore or create a good relation among the conflicting parties (USaid, 1998).

Arbitration is the highest level of ADR where parties vest power in third-party lawmakers to decide a conflict. Arbitration method may be legal binding or non-legal binding, compulsory or free and it is commonly used among businesses and their consumers. The arbitrators, who may be a member of a judiciary listens to the evidences and issues an arbitration awards. (Lau & Johnson, 2011, p. 70-74)

Nevertheless, certain categories of ADR have been named and understood to involve the use of particular means and methods to produce the desired end result. These procedures include: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, med-arb, early neutral evaluation, settlement conference and conciliation to name a few. However this essay will concentrate on mediation as a form of alternative dispute resolution.

Arbitration is legal technique used to resolve any disputes outside of the courts. Arbitration allows for speedy and cheap resolution of any disputes, the parties involved in a dispute agree to appoint a third person (arbitrator) who will hear their testimonies, and look into the evidence they provide. The arbitrator's decision cannot be challenged in a law court as it is considered final and the parties involved have to accept the decision (Brams & Merrill, 1986). There are only very limited circumstances where the decision of an arbitrator can be challenged, and this is mostly if there can be proof from one of the parties showing that the arbitrator was biased in their decision or ruling. The chosen arbitrator will be an experienced person in the area of the dispute.

In the aftermath of the 1957 Treaty , the European Economic Community (EEC) was established and customs barriers between the member states have been abolished. Member States throughout the Community, can “promote a harmonious development of economic activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, an increased stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations between them”. Therefore, in order for a common market to be established between Member States, the Community enacted some legislative provisions which aimed to a true harmonization of laws; incorporate different legal systems under a basic legal framework. The main issue arising is whether these legal provisions in accordance with the case law, ensured the free movement of goods within this market.

Within the first part of my essay alternative dispute resolution (ADR) will be examined. I will have a critical look at the key types as well as their usefulness in fulfilling the objective of access to justice.

An important reason for this popularity is that States have consented in advance to compulsory dispute settlement by the WTO and also, but to a lesser extent, by ICSID arbitration. In the case of the WTO it is the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding that confers compulsory jurisdiction on the WTO Dispute Settlement System; while in the case of ICSID a large number of States have consented in advance to ICSID jurisdiction over their disputes with investors by means of express provisions in Bilateral Investment Treaties. Moreover, an important additional reason for the widespread use of ICSID as a forum for international dispute settlement is that investors – who are in effect the substantive rights holders under Bilateral Investment Treaties – are often given the right to institute ICSID arbitration directly against the host State.

Arbitration is one of the many methods of resolving disputes and the same is always based on the agreement between the parties to the dispute. This concept is essential to the understanding of the nature and being of arbitration. Though arbitration is something that is founded on a contract, it is affected both by national legislations and international conventions.

International commercial arbitration is one of the most important legal institutions in international private law. This conclusion follows from the fact that the nature of arbitration depends largely on autonomy of the parties, who choose arbitration procedure as the procedure in which the dispute will be settled; place where the arbitration is to be held; arbitral tribunal etc. Probably the most important and considerable expression of the autonomy is the right to choose the law, which is to be applied to merits of the dispute. The chosen applicable law guarantees in large measure predictability of the outcome of the case and allows parties to control the scope of interpretation and application of the international commercial