Marginals and Elites in International Arbitration

Abstract

This chapter sheds light on a field that has raised significant interest in recent years: the sociology of individuals who are routinely appointed as international arbitrators to settle the important business disputes that commonly arise in transnational settings. These individuals serve as the private judges of global business law, and their governance functions have grown together with the growth of international arbitration, which is now the preferred method for resolving these disputes. The private nature of these appointments and the creation of a closed group of elite arbitrators (sometimes described as a “mafia”) have raised important concerns within civil society.

This chapter builds upon prior research on the sociological evolution of international commercial arbitration [ICA] and extends it – on the basis of original data – to investor-state arbitration. The data referred to herein are drawn from an exhaustive review of the appointments of arbitrators at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes [ICSID] since 1972.