International Commercial Courts: Possible Problematic Social Externalities of a Dispute Resolution Product with Good Market Potential

Abstract

International commercial courts seem quite likely to become a successful product on the dispute resolution market. But they are not merely that. They are not mechanisms resolving an array of disputes which are isolated from and have no effect on their socio-economic environment. They rather are likely to trigger social externalities, to contribute to the development or reinforcement of a wider social order. It is too early to say with certitude what that social order will be, given both the state of the research and the current level of use and impact of these courts. But plausible hypotheses suggest that a general societal pushback is possible, and at the very least that this is a question that deserves our attention, as much if not more than procedural technicalities.

Keywords: dispute resolution market, dispute resolution product, social externalities