Originally from: Advocacy in International Commercial Arbitration - ASA Special Series No. 36

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The ASA CHARTER of Advocacy in International Commercial Arbitration

As a constituent part of international commerce, international commercial arbitration must be at the service of the international business community.  This implies that the principal objective of international commercial arbitration must be the efficiency of the process, avoiding unnecessary confrontation, producing fair and equitable results and contributing to the restoration of constructive business relations.

The arbitral process must be tailored to meet the needs and legitimate expectations of the users, namely the parties.  The parties’ representatives, referred to here as “Counsel”, have a key role to play in this process.  First of all, Counsel owe loyalty and effective services to their clients.  However, the ASA Charter considers the role of Counsel in its entirety, which encompasses all of the required skills that Counsel need to master in order to ensure that the international commercial arbitration process is responsive to the needs and expectations of its constituency.  It is these skills that form effective advocacy in international commercial arbitration and that the ASA Charter seeks to promote.

ASA is aware that these objectives can be promoted in a variety of ways.  Therefore the present Charter sets out some basic principles.  As experience in the application of the Charter advances, these principles may evolve and may be refined.