Course Catalogue

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The course will cover the law of international arbitration, with a focus on international commercial arbitration. This is the area of the law that governs the ability of parties to international commercial transactions to agree to have their disputes adjudicated extra-judicially, by resorting to private panels of arbitrators and often under the supervision of arbitral institutions, as well as the conditions under which they may do so. It also governs the arbitral process (starting with the constitution of the arbitral tribunal and concluding with the rendering of an arbitral award), as well as the circulation of arbitral awards (i.e. the condition under which national authorities may agree to recognise and enforce the said decision).

Students will be introduced to this area of the law through a combination of theoretical and practical perspectives. Thus, we will cover questions related to the specific nature and legitimacy of arbitration (e.g. Is an arbitrator a judge? Why do we allow parties to settle their dispute through private adjudication? Have States gone too far in liberalising the access and effectiveness of arbitration? Etc.), as well as to the most important practical issues that arise in the arbitral process (e.g. what are the advantages of institutional over ad hoc arbitration? On what basis may the selection of an arbitrator be challenged? What law governs the arbitral process? How may one challenge the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award? Etc.).

In terms of a more specific course outline, the following will be addressed in this order: (1) the general framework and theory of international arbitration; (2) the validity and scope of arbitration agreements; (3) the different stages and features of the arbitral process; and (4) the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.

Throughout, reference will be made to materials of different kinds (scholarship, judicial and arbitral case law, statutes and treaties) and origins (from international, domestic legal systems and transnational legal practice).

10 x 2-hour seminars over Semesters 2

The course is open to all LLM students subject to the requirements of the LLM programme on which a student is enrolled.

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The course is assessed by an essay of 1500 words (25%) and a 2-hour final examination (75%).

1. Introduce the practical reality of international arbitration, in particular the typical structure of the arbitral process and the various institutions that tend to be involved, as well as insisting on the extent of the predominance of arbitration (rather than court-based dispute resolution) in international commerce.  

2. explore the main objectives and rationale for international arbitration as a particularly successful institution, particularly in the commercial domain, as well as the main theoretical approaches to this field; 

3. offer a thorough overview and analysis of the sources of rights and obligations related to international arbitration, with particular regard to international legal materials (especially the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and the UNCITRAL Model Law), key domestic legal systems and the rules elaborated through transnational practice;  

4. provide a firm foundation of knowledge on the principles and rules of law applicable to arbitration agreements, the arbitral process and the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. 

By the end of the course students should: 

1. Explain the essential structure of the arbitral process  

2. Explain the essential principles, sources, objectives and trends of the law of international arbitration 

3. Apply the most important legal texts that govern international commercial arbitration to hypothetical disputes 

4. Evaluate the probability of success of an argument in an international arbitration dispute  

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.