Arbitration’s Age of Enlightenment?

Book excerpt: 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.