The article by Anke Sessler, which follows, clearly and concisely sets out the views of a well-known German in-house counsel and lawyer concerning the expectations of corporate users in the broad areas of dispute resolution, arbitration and ADR.

 

As a way of introduction, I wish first of all to say that the author’s observations in relation to the increasing importance of litigation for corporations together with all the issues associated with such an increase and her description of the related expectations of the litigating entities are fully shared. These observations are invaluable, as they result from the long experience of the author as an insider with respect to corporate life.

 

I will confine myself to drawing the attention of the reader to the very interesting comments which the author makes regarding certain aspects of arbitration which, in her opinion, leave room for improvement. These aspects are the excessive duration of the arbitration proceedings, the sometimes undue burden they cause to corporate users and the proliferation of soft law provisions of a procedural nature regarding arbitration.

 

With respect to the average duration of the arbitration proceedings, the author acknowledges that several arbitral institutions have adopted measures to speed proceedings up, so that an efficiently managed arbitration can take two years on average. However, the author rightly observes that, from a business perspective, two years “may not be fast enough”.