International Commercial Arbitration

For the legal profession throughout much of the world, one of the most important effects of a "globalized economy" has been the startling growth of international arbitration, as the preferred alternative to national courts, for the resolution of business and commercial disputes arising out of "cross-border transactions" and international investments.

In recent years, the leading international arbitral institutions have seen their caseloads grow dramatically. For example, in 2024, the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”), headquartered in Paris, registered 841 new cases in total, comprising 831 cases filed under the ICC Arbitration Rules and 10 under the Rules of ICC as Appointing Authority. In 2023, the London Court of International Arbitration ("LCIA") saw a 13% increase in the total number of referrals (377 against 333) and an 11% increase in the number of LCIA arbitrations (327 against 293), compared with 2022. Similar growth has been experienced in Asia at leading arbitral institutions in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China as well as in North America at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") at the World Bank in Washington, DC and the American Arbitration Association's International Centre for Dispute Resolution ("ICDR") in the New York City.

Significantly, according to the 2025 Queen Mary and White & Case International Arbitration Survey, for 87% of respondents, international arbitration, rather than transnational litigation in "national" or "state" courts, is the preferred method of resolving cross-border disputes. In response to the growth of international arbitration, law firms in almost all the important commercial centres around the world have formed and grown "International Arbitration" groups or departments to deal with complex multi-jurisdictional disputes which frequently involve major commercial transactions and global infrastructure projects.

In the light of the increasing prominence of arbitration in the growing global economy, it is highly useful, if not essential, for all lawyers involved in international commerce to develop a basis or "working" understanding of the international commercial arbitration process and the legal framework on which it is built and functions.

In 2024, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre ("HKIAC") registered 503 new cases in total (compared to 500 cases in 2023), from which only 352 were arbitrations. The caseload of Singapore International Arbitration Centre Centre ("SIAC") decreased by 5.7% (663 against 625) as compared to 2023, but this volume was nevertheless the third highest caseload in the history of the Centre.

With this goal in mind, this course will include:

• Examination of "arbitration" versus other methods of dispute resolution.
• A brief history of "arbitration".
• A careful examination of the "law" governing international arbitrations including the parties' arbitration agreement and applicable procedural rules, national statutes, and international treaties.
• A "workshop" on drafting arbitration agreements for international transactions.
• An introduction to and overview of leading international arbitral institutions (ICC, LCIA, ICSID, and the leading Asian arbitration institutions.)
• A step-by-step examination of the major "focal points" in a typical arbitration proceeding including initiation of the arbitration, appointment of arbitrators, written proceedings, presentation of evidence, hearings, and the arbitral "Award".
• Enforcement of the Award/Defences to the Enforcement of Awards.
• Examination of Investor/State Arbitrations (an important and specialised category of international arbitrations against States under international investment agreements such as bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”)).