Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

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Arbitration counsel want to win. Understanding how arbitrators think, what they favor, how they make decisions, and how they work together can guide counsel in devising their strategy and developing their presentations. For their part, arbitrators want to provide a fair hearing that meets the parties’ needs. Knowing how other arbitrators handle various procedural aspects, what influences their thinking, and what they prefer can inform arbitrators in conducting their own arbitrations most effectively.

Several excellent works have been published in recent years which approach the subject of arbitrator decision-making from the perspective and mindset of many notable arbitration practitioners.   However, empirical data based on a pool of arbitrator responses is scarce. In order to inform the arbitration community and advance the knowledge base on arbitrator preferences and decision-making, I conducted a survey. The survey was distributed through various listservs both in the U.S. and to colleagues around the world and drew 401 responses.  

This article reports and comments on the survey responses, grouped into six sections: the constitution of the tribunal, fundamentals, narrowing the issues and preliminary views, deliberations, the award, and mediation. It is hoped that the discussion will aid counsel and arbitrators in the conduct of arbitrations and provoke consideration of ways to improve the process in the never-ending search for excellence in arbitration.