The Serviceable Texts of International Commercial Arbitration: An Embarrassment of Riches

Abstract:     
International commercial arbitration as an institution owes much to the endeavor of comparative law technicians whose consensus-based texts have significantly unified the basic international arbitration model. This essay describes some leading examples of such formula and briefly suggests the role they have already played in the relatively new context of NAFTA investment arbitration. The penultimate section introduces certain newly published texts and works in progress that are likely to exert a further unifying influence. Taken together, they illustrate how, over time, international commercial arbitration – a largely private, autonomous mechanism – has been edified and refined by the steady introduction of new sources of normative guidance.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: ICA, ADR, NAFTA, international commercial arbitration, arbitration, dispute resolution, alternative dispute resolution, literature, investment arbitration, comparative law, international law, international arbitration

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