Originally from Behind the Scenes in International Arbitration

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INTRODUCTION -- WHY THIS BOOK, AND FOR WHOM IS IT INTENDED?

Almost all the available books on international arbitration, many of them excellent, show international arbitration from an “official” standpoint—the face it generally presents to its users. I have found few works, however, that go beyond (or better, behind) that official face to deal with what actually takes place behind the scenes.

I therefore thought it would be worthwhile to contribute to the study of what happens “behind the scenes” in the practice of international arbitration, taking that expression to mean everything that goes on backstage—behind the curtains of that great theater that is the complex world of international arbitration, in which the players are the parties, their counsel, their in-house counsel, the arbitrators and the arbitration institutions that administer arbitrations. This theater is not open to the public, the reason being that the arbitral process is still, by its nature, for the most part confidential and non-transparent. Only “authorized personnel” are allowed a glimpse of what goes on behind its curtains.