Originally from Practitioner's Handbook On International Arbitration And Mediation- 3rd Edition

This chapter explains the importance of, and the considerations underlying, the selection of the site for an arbitration. The site can affect the selection of the arbitrator, the procedural law governing the arbitration, the discovery available in the proceedings, the enforcement of the choice-of-law clause, the costs of the arbitration (including the requirement, and thus the expense, of retaining local counsel), the availability of resources (both the facilities and translators), and the enforceability of the resulting arbitral award. The chapter also briefly surveys the leading sites for arbitrations.

§ 4.01 Introduction: The Importance of the Site

Practitioner's Hint: The selection of the site of arbitration is probably the second most important decision in an arbitration because a number of other factors may well be influenced by that choice. That conclusion suggests the following: choose the site carefully.

As suggested in chapter 2, selection of the arbitral site may be the second most important decision following the choice of the arbitrator(s) in preparing for an international arbitration. While there is no uniformly "best" site for international arbitration, the parties should bear in mind many factors besides the physical convenience of the site when selecting the site for arbitration. Note the following factors which can affect the selection of the site:

(a) the selection of the sole or presiding arbitrator,

(b) the enforcement of the parties' choice-of-law clause,

(c) the procedural law governing the arbitration,

(d) the discovery procedures available for the arbitration, and

(e) the enforcement of the arbitral award.

Those factors are relevant particularly in an international arbitration where relatively little time may be spent at the actual site of the arbitration. Preliminary hearings may be held by telephone or at some place other than the arbitration site; discovery may involve production of documents from the parties' files, wherever they may be located, with copies shipped to opposing counsel; and witness statements may be prepared at various places and submitted to the arbitrators and opposing counsel electronically or by mail.