Originally from Reflections on International Arbitration - Essays in Honour of Professor George Bermann

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“What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.”  -- Christopher Hitchens

It has been our immense pleasure to know Professor George Bermann for over a decade in various capacities. For Kabir, the friendship began when Professor Bermann guided him into the field of arbitration, then serving as a key mentor, and later inviting Kabir to co-teach international arbitration courses (which Kabir considers the highlight of his career). For Rekha, the friendship began in her role as Director for the AAA-ICDR where Professor Bermann serves as arbitrator, and later, as Executive Director of the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC) where Professor Bermann serves as Co-Chair of the Global Advisory Board. His service and contributions to both the AAA-ICDR and NYIAC have been pivotal in maintaining New York’s role as a global seat, center, and thought leadership community for arbitration.

Kabir and Rekha relish the dinner meet-ups with Professor Bermann and his equally talented and amazing wife, Professor Sandra Bermann, as time well spent in avid conversation with international cuisine. Professor Bermann amplifies a true renaissance man, someone who has proverbially done it all: an academic par excellence, a prolific author, a renowned expert, a champion of diversity, an in-demand arbitrator amongst the various hats he wears. As a tribute to Professor Bermann’s role as arbitrator, this Chapter examines the application and use of gap-filling, soft law instruments by an arbitrator, drawing from a confluence of common and civil law practices.