International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

Resolving Disputes in the Asia-Pacific Region presents empirical research about the attitudes and perceptions of the arbitration community in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia as well as North America and Europe. The book covers both international commercial arbitration and alternative techniques such as mediation, providing an empirical analysis of how both types of dispute resolution are conducted in the East Asian context. The book examines the history and cultural context surrounding preferred methods of dispute resolution in the East Asian region and sheds light on the various approaches to international arbitration across these diverse regions.

Mediation as a Mandatory Pre-condition to Arbitration debunks common arguments against the compatibility of mandatory investor-state mediation with the ISDS regime. Ana Ubilava pioneers an empirical analysis of over 600 investor-state arbitration cases and a doctrinal study of ISDS clauses in dozens of treaties.

After decades of focus on harmonization, which for too many represents no more than Western legal dominance and a largely homogeneous arbitration practitioner community, this ground-breaking book explores the increasing attention being paid to the need for greater diversity in the international arbitration ecosystem. It examines diversity in all its forms, investigating how best to develop an international arbitral order that is not just tolerant of diversity, but that sustains and promotes diversity in concert with harmonized practices.

This thought-provoking book combines analysis of international commercial and investment treaty arbitration in order to examine how they have been framed by the twin tensions of ‘in/formalisation’ and ‘glocalisation’. Taking a comparative approach, the book focuses on Australia and Japan in their attempts to become regional hubs for international arbitration and dispute resolution services in the increasingly influential Asia-Pacific context as well as a global context.

This forward-looking book examines dispute resolution issues in the context of Belt and Road Initiative dealings between parties in ASEAN Member States, China and other trade partners. It discusses a range of commercial dispute issues and economic agreements including free trade agreements and investment agreements, both bilateral and regional.

Launched in 1991, the Asian Yearbook of International Law is a major internationally-refereed yearbook dedicated to international legal issues as seen primarily from an Asian perspective. It is published under the auspices of the Foundation for the Development of International Law in Asia (DILA) in collaboration with DILA-Korea, the Secretariat of DILA, in South Korea. When it was launched, the Yearbook was the first publication of its kind, edited by a team of leading international law scholars from across Asia. It provides a forum for the publication of articles in the field of international law and other Asian international legal topics. The objectives of the Yearbook are two-fold: First, to promote research, study and writing in the field of international law in Asia; and second, to provide an intellectual platform for the discussion and dissemination of Asian views and practices on contemporary international legal issues. Each volume of the Yearbook contains articles and shorter notes; a section on Asian state practice; an overview of the Asian states’ participation in multilateral treaties and succinct analysis of recent international legal developments in Asia; a bibliography that provides information on books, articles, notes, and other materials dealing with international law in Asia; as well as book reviews. This publication is important for anyone working on international law and international relations.

In international arbitration, deference entails that one decision-maker does not make an autonomous assessment but limits its decision-making power out of respect for the decision or authority of another actor. For example, a court exercising post-award review might refrain from reviewing a question of procedure de novo but instead defer to a prior determination made by the arbitral tribunal. In this book, prominent arbitration practitioners and academics offer the first systematic analysis of such deference in international arbitration. With abundant reference to case law from major arbitration hubs, the analysis is organized around the three relationships in which questions of deference arise: public-private relationships in which a State actor (e.g., a court) must decide whether it should pay deference to determinations made by a private actor (e.g., a tribunal or an arbitral institution); public-public relationships in which a State actor (e.g., a court at the place of recognition and enforcement) must decide whether it should pay deference to another State actor (e.g., a court at the seat); and private-private relationships in which a private actor (e.g., an arbitral tribunal) must decide whether it should pay deference to another private actor (e.g., another arbitral tribunal or an arbitral institution). The book makes an important contribution to tracing the boundaries of the multiple layers of control over arbitration proceedings. It takes a giant step towards establishing the right equilibrium between the different layers of authority and thus meeting a pivotal challenge for the viability of arbitration as a form of dispute resolution.

The Yearbook Commercial Arbitration continues its longstanding commitment to serving as a primary resource for the international arbitration community, with reports on arbitral awards and court decisions applying the leading arbitration conventions and decisions of general interest to the practice of international arbitration as well as announcements of arbitration legislation and rules. Volume XLVI (2021) includes: • excerpts of arbitral awards made under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), as well as awards rendered in accordance with the rules of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC); • notes on new and amended arbitration rules, including references to their online publication; • notes on recent developments in arbitration law and practice in Belize, Brazil, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Iran, Iraq, Malawi, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan ; • excerpts of 85 court decisions applying the 1958 New York Convention from 28 countries – including, for the first time, cases from Costa Rica, Cuba, and Iran – all indexed by subject matter and linked to the commentaries on the New York Convention published in the Yearbook, authored by former General Editor and leading expert Prof. Dr. Albert Jan van den Berg; • excerpts from three decisions applying the 1965 Washington (ICSID) Convention and three decisions applying the 1975 Panama (Inter-American) Convention, as well as a selection of nine court decisions of general interest; • an extensive Bibliography of recent books and journals on arbitration. The Yearbook is edited by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the world’s leading organization representing practitioners and academics in the field, under the general editorship of Prof. Dr. Stephan W. Schill and with the assistance of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague. It is an essential tool for lawyers, business people and scholars involved in the practice and study of international arbitration.