When the United Nations undertook the publication of the Reports of International Arbitral Awards, the `Pasicrisie internationale' was identified as one of the rare truly general collections of international case law in existence. In fact, in deciding to publish the arbitration clauses and arbitral awards from 1794 to 1900, Henri La Fontaine was doing pioneering work, foreshadowing the famous Reports by half a century. As we near the end of the century, the `Pasicrisie internationale' remains just as pertinent as it was when first published in 1902. This collection of arbitral awards, with its modest appearance, has certainly contributed more to the development of international arbitration case law than any number of lyrical speeches advocating peace through law. First edition printed in 1902 by Stämpfli, Bern. Lorsque l'Organisation des Nations Unies entreprit la publication de son Recueil des sentences arbitrales, elle identifia la Pasicrisie internationale comme constituant l'une des rares véritables collections générales de jurisprudence internationale préexistantes. De fait, en décidant de rassembler les clauses compromissoires et les sentences arbitrales de 1794 à1900, Henri La Fontaine avait fait oeuvre de pionnier et il préfigurait, avec un demi-siècle d'avance, le célèbre Recueil. En cette fin de siècle, la Pasicrisie internationale constitue donc un outil de travail toujours aussi actuel que lors de sa publication en 1902. Cette compilation de sentences arbitrales, d'apparence modeste, a certainement plus contribué au développement de la jurisprudence arbitrale internationale que bien des discours lyriques prônant la paix par le droit. Première édition imprimée en 1902 par Stämpfli, Berne.

A history of modern international commercial arbitration theory and practice from the eighteenth century to the present day.

This book outlines how odious debts are not legally binding under international or domestic law, contrary to widely held legal opinion.

The agreement of disputing parties to each make a unilateral appointment of an arbitrator is among the most distinctive features of arbitral practice. A detailed examination, long overdue, of how this feature affects the actual process of arbitration is presented in this book. The study includes a historical analysis of unilateral nominations, a critical assessment of how the unilateral appointments system currently works and an empirical study of challenges of arbitrators. The author's critical assessment addresses several issues including: - limits to the right of the parties to make unilateral appointments; - the principle of equality of the parties in the constitution of the arbitral tribunal; - arbitrators’ duty to be impartial and independent; - specific problems of bias in tribunals with party-appointed members; - the question of whether a different standard of impartiality and independence in party-appointed arbitrators makes any sense; - the presumption that party-appointed arbitrators can do things that presiding arbitrators cannot; and - the question of whether it is worth keeping the system of unilateral appointments as the default method for the constitution of multiple-member tribunals, or keeping it at all. The empirical study, in which the author offers a comparative analysis of challenges of arbitrators taking into account the method of appointment of the arbitrator, reveals interesting differences and coincidences between party-appointed and non-party-appointed arbitrators. The book ends with some suggestions on how the system of unilateral appointments could be improved, namely in order to increase the trust of each party in the arbitrator appointed by the other party and to allow an accurate match between what arbitration end-users may want from party-appointed arbitrators and what they ultimately get. For both its thorough and well-informed analysis and its sound recommendations, the book is sure to be welcomed by professionals in the arbitral community worldwide, as well as by arbitration law academics.

Directly presenting the considered views of a broad cross-section of the international arbitration community, this timely collection of essays addresses the criticism of the arbitral process that has been voiced in recent years, interpreting the challenge as an invitation to enlightenment. The volume records the entire proceedings of the twenty-fifth Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), held in Edinburgh in September 2022. Topics range from the impact of artificial intelligence to the role of international arbitration in restraining resort to unilateralism, protectionism, and nationalism. The contributors tackle such contentious issues as the following: time and cost; gender and cultural diversity; confidentiality vs. transparency; investor-State dispute settlement procedures; the proposed establishment of a permanent international investment court system; how cross-fertilisation across different disciplines may impact international arbitration; determining whether a document request seeks documents that are relevant and material to the outcome of a dispute; whether we would be better off if investment arbitration were to disappear; and implications for international arbitration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is consideration of global issues that are likely to give rise to disputes in the future, including climate change, environmental protection, access to depleting water resources, energy and mining transition, and human rights initiatives. Several contributions focus on developments in specific countries (China, India) and regions (Africa, the Middle East). Arbitrators, corporate counsel, and policymakers will appreciate this opportunity to engage with current thinking on key issues in international commercial and investment arbitration, especially given the diversity of thought presented by authors from all over the world.