Beyond Theory and Practice in International Arbitration

International arbitration is arguably the most voraciously narrated area of international legal practice, yet its place within and between international legal systems—or as an independent legal order in its own right—remains relatively unstudied.

Amidst that gap in coverage, international arbitration has been subjected to and fuelled by a series of narratives surrounding the profession. To properly explore that gap in coverage and the construction of narratives around the profession, Faris Nasrallah and others conducted research with a consciously interdisciplinary approach, using methodological tools from law and anthropology and applying the conceptual framework of legal pluralism. This webinar explores the findings of this research, focussed on two case studies:

• an area study on the growth and transformation of arbitration in the city-state of Dubai in the UAE
• a technical study on entitlement, applications, and recovery of costs in international arbitration.

The findings attested to the existence of ‘arbitral agents’, applying individual and institutional normativities, both at structural levels and in daily arbitral practice. The findings revealed the virtues of interdisciplinary research, but also how much collective conceptual work remains to be done by those involved in or interested in international arbitration. 

International arbitration is now clearly the de jure mechanism for most commercial, trade, investment and inter-state disputes in the world. As states reorder and reorganise themselves along regional and other lines, the effective management, practice and narration of international arbitration assumes a highly critical position in retaining any modicum of trust in international legal processes.