Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

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I. INTRODUCTION

A. The Significance of Multi-Party Arbitration

Economic development and internationalization of trade activities have led to highly sophisticated, interdependent markets where complex commercial transactions are no longer confined to national borders. "The magnitude of the undertakings has outgrown the financial and managerial capacity of any single State or corporation, acting alone."[1] Instead, a variety of parties commonly are involved in such transactions, tied together in a network of contractual relationships that involve multilateral agreements and/or multiple bilateral contracts.

Simultaneously, because formal court litigation has been perceived as expensive and inefficient, alternative, more suitable methods of dispute resolution have evolved as a substitute for trial.