International Commercial Arbitration Analysis

Contextualizing the need to debate the ‘regulation’ of international commercial arbitration: an introduction
When entering an hospital, the average patient rarely questions the commitment of its doctors to its well-being. Likewise, when visiting an attorney, most have confidence that the person they visit have their best interests at heart. In reality, our confidence in the professionals performing their roles is based on the existence of a complex web of incentives and deterrents not always easy to identify. The reason why a doctor cares for the life of its patient or a lawyer for the fate of its client will include a wide range of factors, from simple monetary incentives, like the desire to get more costumers or avoid disciplinary action, to complex deeply ingrained cultural values and moral judgements.
Society expects many professions to act ethically and fulfil a role that goes beyond simply complying with strictly defined contractual obligations. Many professions are trusted by society to perform key tasks with deep public interest implications, from providing life-saving procedures to guarantee legal rights. A society however rarely trusts only in market incentives, social pressures and moral judgements to lead professionals to behave in accordance with the public’s expectations. To assure that professionals and …show more content…
Arbitrators, deciding cases often valued at millions of dollars and with profound implications for the fate of companies, workers and communities, certainly qualify as agents of central importance in the current legal system. Despite their key importance, arbitrators and arbitral institutions can, at least in theory, enter this market without undertaking any previous licencing and, in practice, have little to none disciplinary oversight from state-backed institutions. This makes international commercial arbitration a particularly unique legal and economic