Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

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INTRODUCTION


Within the last 35 years, arbitration, rather than litigation in national courts, has become the preferred method of resolving international commercial disputes. To a large extent, this modern day reliance on the international arbitration process would not have been possible without the pioneering work of the world's leading arbitral institutions. It was institutions like the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration, the American Arbitration Association and others around the globe that, from their early beginnings, have devoted their energies to promoting the use of arbitration, encouraging the enactment of modern arbitration legislation, developing procedures for the conduct of arbitral proceedings and conducting programs to educate users and neutrals concerning proper arbitration practice.
Of equal importance to the overall effectiveness of international commercial arbitration has been the role of arbitral institutions, soon to be joined by the World Intellectual Property Organization, in providing efficient and impartial administrative services in the processing of cases filed for arbitration by disputing parties. For as Redfern and Hunter have noted, "an established and well-organized arbitral institution can do much to ensure the smooth progress of an international commercial arbitration, even if the parties themselves — or their legal advisers — have little or no practical experience in the field."1

THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT