INTERNATIONAL

CHAMBER of COMMERCE
ARBITRATION
Third Edition

W. Laurence Craig
William W. Park
Jan Paulsson

OCEANA PUBLICATIONS, INC. I DOBBS FERRY, NY

IGG
International Chamber of Commerce
 § 5.05
§ 5.05 IllE VALIDITY OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IllE VALIDITY OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

the parties and to adjudicate their claims and pleas even though the con- vealed by the circumstances of the negotiation and performance of the con-
20
tract itself may be non-existent or null and void. 17 tract, and 2) usages conforming to the needs of international commerce.

It should finally be noted that since the arbitration agreement is conceived as

It may be queried whether application of French la~ as such woul~ have led
independent of the main contract in which it is contained, its own validity is to a different result. since reference to the common intent of the pa rues and to
21
not necessarily determined by the law applicable to the main contract. IS trade usages are consistent with, and indeed encouraged by, French law.
An arbitrator who does not refer to a particular national law to determine the
5 .05 Llw applicable to the arbitration agreement validity. scope. and effects of the arbitration cla~se gi~es him~elf a particu-
Even when a contract is expressly subject to a particular law, as by a stipula- larly wide berth to apply the growing body of published_ mterna~1onal awards,
tion for example that ·any difference arising hereunder shall be settled ... if not as precedents reflecting general principles of an mternattonal law mer-
according to Belgian law," it is not certain that the validity, scope, and effects chant, then at least as evidence of usages.22
of the arbitration clause would be determined by reference to Belgian law. This development increases the significance of publis~e~ ICC awards as evi-
This is so because of the autonomy of the arbitration clause. recognized by dence of generally accepted practice relating to the validity and effects of the
the ICC Rules (see Section 5.04). By referring to ICC arbitration. the parties arbitration clause.
have accepted that the arbitrators are to decide upon challenges to their juris- Under Article v (1)(a) of the New York Convention for the Re~ogni~ion and_ En-
diction and to the validity of the main contract. In so doing. ICC arbitrators forcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the agreement to arb~t~ate 1s exam1_ned
need not apply the law applicable to the merits of the dispute. either by reference to the law stipulated by the parties or. fa1hng such a sttp~­
An arbitral tribunal comprising three leading scholars of international arbi- lation, to the law of the place of arbitration. Given the fact t~at th~ law ~ppl~­
tration (namely Professors Sanders of Holland, Chairman. and Goldman and cable to the arbitration clause is rarely the subject of a specific sttpulauon, 1t
Vasseur of France). in a 1982 award which became a matter of public knowl- is hardly surprising to find that most national court decisions under the New
edge as a result of a challenge before the Court of Appeal of Paris, 19 specifi- York convention have applied the law of the country where the award was
cally held that their determination of the scope and effect of the arbitration
clause would not be based on the law chosen by the parties as applicable to
the merits (French law), but on I) the common intent of the parties as re- 20 Other awards holding that the arbitration clause is not subject to the governing law_ of the main
contract include: ICC Cases 4381/1986, II ICC AWARDS 264 (specifying that ICC arbitrators may
rule on the validity or the arbitration clause wichout referring to any national law whatsoever):
4695/1984. II ICC AWARDS 33; 4604/1984. I ICC :\WARDS 546 (Italian law governed the contract.
but arbitrability under Italian and ECC competition law is decided under the law of the place of
arbitration: Geneva).
21 As of t 981, Article 1496 of the French Code of Civil Procedure reads:

17 For a review oF the notions oF separability oF the arbitration clause and arbitral "The arbitrator shall decide the dispute according to the rules oFlaw chosen by the parties: i?
competence-competence as reflected in various inscitutional rules and international treaties. see the absence or such a choice, he shall decide according to the rules of law he deems appropn-
Pieter Sanders. Com mental)' on UNC!TRAl Arbitration Rules, II YEARBOOK t 72. 19 7-200 (1977). ate. In all cases he shall take into account trade usages."
22 As Professor Lalive, sole arbitrator. stated in ICC Case 1512/1971, I ICC AWARDS 3. 33. 37 at 39,
For an award holding that an arbitration clause was effective alchough the contracc was gener-
ally subject ID an approval or equipment which had not macerialized. see ICC Case 4555/1985. I the usages of international commerce are that an arbicration:
ICC AWARDS 536; English cranslacion in II ICC AWARDS 24. ·shall only be governed by the rules of arbitration chosen by the parties ... Once the parties
In ICC Case 4145/1983. I ICC AWARDS 559. English cranslation in II ICC AWARDS 53. che arbitra- have agreed ID ... the ICC Rules. there is no possibility to rely against the ICC Rules. upon
tors held. at I 00. that: "the question or validity or nullity of the main contract. for reasons of any provision of the law of Pakistan or the law of India."
public policy. illegality or otherwise. is one oF merits and not of jurisdiction. the validity of the Since the leading case ofHechc v. Buismans. decided by the Paris Court ~f Ap~I i~ 1970. !972
arbitration clause having ID be considered separately from the validity oF the main contract (see REV. ARB. 67, by virtue of the autonomy principle the Fre~ch courts wall noc. m mtemauo~al
.-\rt. 8(4) ICC Rules)." cases, apply a prohibition of arbitration under the substantive applicable law o_f a ~tr~ct tot~­
The French Supreme Court has held that the novation oF a con trace by a subsequent settlement validate an arbitration clause contained in it. (In che Hecht case. a French law 1~v_ahd~tmg arbi-
agreement did not neutralize the ICC arbitration clause in the original contract. Cosiac (Italy) v. tration agreements by commercial agents was disregarded.) See also the authont1es cited supra
Luchetti (Italy) et al., decision of IO May 1988. 1988 REV ARB. 639. Note 2.
18 Some ramificacions of this observation are illustrated irJ!Ta Note 22. In its much-heralded judgment in the Dalico case, Khoms El Mergeb v. Societe Dalico, 1994 JDI
432 1994 REV.ARB. 116. the French Courtof Cassation declared that as a result of the autonomy
19 lsover Sr. Gobain v. Dow Chemical France et al.; ICC Case 4131/1982. I ICC AWARDS 146. 465. up- prin,ciple the ·existence and effectiveness· of an arbitration clause arc to be a~ssed ·a~cordmg
held by the Paris Court of Appeal, decision oF 21 October 1983: 1984, REV. ARB. 98; extracts in to the common intention of the parties. with no necessaiy reference ID a nattonal law.
English in IX YEARB(>\)K 132 (1984).

53
52
 §5.06
TifE VALIDITY Of TifE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT
T
TifE VALIDITY OF TifE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT §5.06

rendered.23 What this means is that prudent ICC arbitrators, although free to
German courts have held an arbitration agreement valid under Article II of the
decide on the validity of the arbitration clause without reference to a national
24 New York Convention in one case where a French seller had written to the
law should also deem themselves bound, under Article 35's exhortation
German buyer that he wished to submit their dispute to arb.itration.und~r t~e
that they "shall make every effort to make sure that the Award is enforceable
International Wool Agreement of 1965 (which in fact localizes arbmatton m
at law," to take account of the law of the place of arbitration.25
the country of the seller) and the latter had written back affirmatively, but
Since the l~w a~plicable to the '!lerits of the dispute does not necessarily gov- later refused to participate in arbitration on the grounds that he had not spe-
ern the arbitration clause, parties may specifically stipulate the law govern- cifically agreed to arbitration in France,27 and in another case where the
ing the arbitration clause, whether or not they opt for the same law as agreement to arbitrate was contained in a broker's confirmation sent by the
applicable to the merits (see Section 8.03). The following Sections 5.06-5.11 broker to each party, signed and returned by each party to the broker. b~t n?t
suggest the legal questions that might have to be resolved in relation to the directly exchanged between the parties, 28 but invalid under the Conventto~ m
arbitration clause. cases where the arbitration agreement was contained in a sales confirmatton
to which the buyer did not object.29
5.06 Form of the agreement to arbitrate
Article 6(3) of the ICC Rules-which provides that unless the defendant ac-
cepts to appear, the request for arbitration will be denied unless the Court is
'!nmaJacie satisfied that an arbitration agreement under the Rules may ex- nature or other expression of intent to conclude an arbitration agreement).((. Hil_I v. Gate':"ay
2000, 105 F. 3d 114 7 (7th Cir. 1997) (arbitration clause enforceable even though included m a
ist-seems to suggest that at a minimum some written proof must be given computer purchase contract which was sent to a buyer who ordered the computer b~ telephone
confirming the existence of that agreement. but did not return the contract. the terms of which indicated that they would apply 1f the com-
puter was kept for more than 30 days); Kahn Lucas Lancaster. Inc. v. Lark lnternati?nal. Ltd.,
The New York Convention expressly recognizes, in Article 11(2), that an ex- 1997 WL458785 (S.D.N.Y.) (arbitration clause in purchase order).Seegeneral[ySec_uon 29.02,
cha.nge of leu:rs or telegrams may constitute an "agreement in writing." The as well as Neil Kaplan, ls the Need for Writing as Expressed in the New York <:•mvenu~n and the
notton of an .exchan~e" ~ould seem to preclude that acceptance of a pro- Model Law Out of Step with Commercial Practice? 12 ARB. INT. 27 (1996); Richard Hill. Formal
RequirementsJor Arbitration Agreements: Does Kahn Lucas Lancasterv. Lark lntematlonal Open
posal to submH to arb1trat1on could occur passively (by failure to protest).26 Pandora·s Box? 12 MEALEY"S INT. ARB. REP. 18 (October 1997): and Paul Friedland. U.S. Courts'
Misapplication efthe Agreement in Writing RequircmentJor Eeforcement efan Arbitration Agree-
ment under the New York Convention, 13 MEALEY"S INT. ARB. REP. 21 (May 1998).
23 ~ Commentary, XI YEARBOOK 450 (1986): see also Deutsche Shachtbau-und 27 Decision of the Landgericht of Bremen of 8 June, 1967, DIE DEUTSCHE RECHTSPRECllUNG AUF DEM
T1elbohrgesellschaft mbH v. Ras Al Khaimah National Oil Co. et. al.. decision of the Court of Ap- GEBIETE DES INTERNATIONALEN PRIVATRECHTS IN DEN fAHREN 1966 UNO 1967. 860, published with
peal of England, of 24 March 1987. (1987] 2 LLOYD"S L REP. 246, (1987] 2 ALL E.R. 769: extracts an English summaiy in ICA NY CONVENTION v. 46: summarized in II YEARBOOK 234 ( 1977).
m ~Ill YEARBOOK 522 (1988), ho~ding that even ifthe proper law of a contract calling for ICC arbi- 28 Decision of the Landgericht of Hamburg of 19 December 1967, 1968 ARTBIT~ RECHTSPRMK
tration were that of Ras Al Kha1mah. the "proper law of the arbitration is Swiss: ·reversed on 139; published with an English summaiy in ICA NY CONVENTION V. 47: summanzed m II YEAR·
other grounds by the House of Lords. (1988) 2 Lwvo·s L. REP. 293, 2 ALL E.R. 833. BOOK 235 (1977). (The broker did not forward the confirmation of ea~ party to the oth~r party.
24 As in ICC Cases 4131/1982, I ICC AWARDS 146, 465; 4381/1986, II ICC AWARDS 264. However, the court noted that under German law the broker is authonzed to record the mtent of
both parties.)
25 ((. I~~ ea_se 44 72/1984, I ICC AWARDS 525 (sole arbitrator sitting in Zurich, referring to local au-
See also P.E.P. Shippingv. Noramco Shipping Corp .. 1997 WL358118 (E.D. La.); Overseas Cosmos
thonties m _hold1_ng that to decide upon his own jurisdiction he "must verify that the arbitration
agreement 1s valid under the law applicable at the seat of the arbitral tribunal1. Inc. v. NR Vessel Corp., 97 Civ. 5898 [DC) (SONY), 13 MEALEY"S INT. ARB. REP. B-1 I (May 1998).
~ya judgment of 2_1 March 1995, the Swiss Federal Tribunal held that the scope of an arbitra- 29 Decision of the Bundesgericht (Supreme Court) of 25 May 1970, 1970 WERTPAPIER MITTEILUNGEN
tmn clause should, m order ro achieve consistency with the New York Convention, be determined 1050: published in French translation in 60 REVUE CRITIQUE DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL -~IVE 88
by reference co the law of the seat of arbitration: excerpts in XXII YEARBOOK 800 (1997). (1971): summarized in II YEARBOOK 237 (1977): decision of theOberlandesgencht of Dusseldorf
of 8 November 1971, DIE DEUTSCHE RECHTSPRECHUNG AUF DEM GEBIETE DES INTER~ATION.'11.ES
26 A_ len~r appoi~ting an arbitrator was considered sufficiently responsive to telexes proposing ar- PRIVATRECHTSINDEM JAHRE 1971 (1971) 492: published with an English summary in ICA NY CON-
b1trauon that 1t was held to constitute agreement: Swiss Federal Supreme Court decision of 5 No- VENTION v. 50: summarized in JI YEARBOOK 238 (1977) (in both cases, awards nonetheless en-
vember 1985. Tracomin S.A. (Switz.) V. Sudan Oil Seeds Co. (U.1(.) 1985 ARRe'TS DU TRIBUNAL forced because tacit agreements to arbitrate were acceptable under national laws).
Fe~R.~L 318 253. summarized in XII YEARBOOK St I (1987). The failure to respond to a letter,
wrmen ~ne and a half momhs after signature of a contract not containing any arbitration clause Awards were also rejected by courts in Italy and Switzerland because the agreement to arbitrate
and stating that the contract was subject to standard conditions which did contain a reference to was contained in unreturned sales confirmations: decision of the Court of Appeal of Naples of 13
arbitration and had applied to a previous contract between the same parties, was held by the December 1974. Ditte Frey. Milota, Seitelberger (Austria) v. Ditte F. Cuccaro e figli (Italy). 11 Riv.
fren~h Supre_me Court not to constitute tacit acceptance, Confex (Rum.) v. Ets. Dahan (France). DIR. INT. P.P. 552 (1975): published with an English summary in ICA NYCo~NTION V. 22: sum-
d~c1s1on of 2:> February 1986, I 986 JOI 735: summarized in XII YEARBOOK 484 ( t 986). See also marized in I YEARBOOK 193 (1976): decision ofche Tribunal cantonal de Geneve of 6 June 1967,
the award of the Hamburg Commodity Exchange Grain Merchants· Association Arbitral Tribunal J.A. van Walsum N.V. (Netherlands) v. Chevelines S.A. (Switze~and). 64 SCHWEIZERISCHE
dated 7 December 1995, XXll YEARBOOK 55 (1997) (no jurisdiction in absence of defcndanrs sig- JURISTEN·ZEITUNG 56 (1968): published with an English summaiy m ICA NY CONVENTION v. 2:
summarized in I YEARBOOK 199 (1976).

54
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§7.03 GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS §7.04

Of course, in the final analysis the atticude of one's adversary's home courts the role of the language of the contract; the prior version of the provision
may not be determinative of the international validity of the award, but as a quoted above (Article 15(3) of the t 975 Rules) used the expression" ... rele-
matter of practically-especially if the other party has no assets abroad-it vant circumstances and in particular to the language of the contract." This is
may be quite important. There are many instances where, for example, it a matter where predictability is especially important, because it is germane to
would be more appropriate to have the arbitration take place in a developing the choice of arbitrators (and indeed advocates). It is therefore wise for con-
country, close to the place of performance of the contract, than in Europe. tract drafters to define the language to be used in any arbitration.
Parties from industrialized countries are sometimes overly reluctant when The clause defining the language of arbitration may furthermore specify that
faced with a proposal to accept arbitration in a developing country. They do not a party wishing to produce a document in a language other than that of the
realize that the essential neutrality of the proceedings may be assured by the arbitration must provide a translation thereof, but this kind of detail may be
manner in which arbitrators are nominated and operate under the ICC Rules. handled at the Terms of Reference stage after a dispute has arisen (see Sec-
The fact that the ICC's Court of Arbitration, whose permanent seat is Paris, ap- tion 15 .02 ); an acceptable rule is very likely to be adopted as a function of the
proves awards does not mean that the award is rendered in Paris.12 Nor does basic principle that one language is the language of the arbitration.
the fact that hearings are held elsewhere alter the principle that the award is In other cases. of course, it may be appropriate that the arbitration be bilin-
deemed to originate in the city formally designated as the place of arbitration. gual, with or without equal status for the two languages. The authors have
7.03 Language of arbitration encountered the following provision:

The official languages of the ICC are English and French, but parties may cor- The language of the arbitration shall be English, but either party shall be
respond with the Secretariat in other languages; translations will be prepared free to make any submission in either English or French without provid-
into one of the official languages if a document is to go before the Court. The ing a translation thereof.
fact that the contract is written in English does not prohibit the defendant 7 .04 Law applicable to the merits of the dispute
from answering the Request for Arbitration in French, since the decision with
respect to the language of the arbitration is to be taken by the arbitrator and The topic of applicable law comes last in this category of "generally recom-
not by the Secretariat or the Court. Once the matter comes before the arbitra- mended additional elements," because strictly speaking the question of applica-
tor. Article 16 of the Rules applies: ble law is independent of the choice of forum. A contract governed by Greek law
may give rise to a dispute before any number of jurisdictions: a court in Greece,
In the absence of an agreement by the parties, the Arbitral Tribunal an arbitral tribunal sitting in Greece. an arbitral tribunal sitting elsewhere, or, for
shall determine the language or languages of the arbitration, due re- that matter. a court of another country. Indeed, international contracts often
gard being given to all relevant circumstances, including the language have different articles dealing with applicable law and jurisdiction.
of the contract.
In theory at least, there must be one national law that has a paramount claim
If the contract was drafted in both French and Arabic, the arbitrator, wishing to determine the obligations arising out of a contract. There are some ques-
to avoid any semblance of favoritism, may be reluctant to give precedence to
tions that may not be decided according to general principles, no matter how
either language even though it was used throughout the negotiation and sub- much confidence the parties have in the fairness of the arbitrator. See gener-
sequent execution of the contract. The result may be cumbersomeness. confu- ally Chapter 35.
sion, and great expense. Similarly, a contract in English may nonetheless
give rise to a bilingual arbitration if it is shown that during the life of the con- Various legal systems may provide different and incompatible solutions for
tract. all written communication between the parties was in French. issues such as those relating to the prescription of litigation (statute of limi-
tations). to the transfer of title and risk, to the rate oflegal interest, 13 and to
The language problem may be quite troublesome, particularly if the arbitrator the time limit imposed on the buyer to complain about the quality of goods as
has a personal preference for working in a language other than that desired delivered. (One might note that common-law practitioners are likely to view
by one of the parties. Reasons of principle (some would say pride) may also issues of statutes of limitations and legal interest rates as procedural rather
enter the picture. The 1998 Rules may be said to have slightly downgraded

12 The High Court of Delhi has specifically so held, in a decision of 28 August 1970, Compagnie 13 for an arbicral award containing an extensive discussion of the law applicable co an agreement
Saine Gobain Ponc-a-Mousson (France) v. fertilizer Corporation of India Ud. summarized in II between a French seller and a Spanish buyer. concluding with the application of the rate of inter·
YEARBOOK 245 (1977). est provided by French law in commercial matters, see ICC Case 2637. I ICC AWARDS 13.

96 97
§ 7.04
-
GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS §7.04

than substantive matters. and look to the law of the forum. In ICC arbitration, it it seems useful to make clear, as per the final phrase of the above clause, that
would seem appropriate to hold these issues to be governed by the same law the law chosen should apply to the merits of the dispute.
that governs the merits, which is often the only one the parties agreed to.)
This choice of law does not necessarily determine either the procedure to be
Nevertheless, it is rare in ICC arbitration that the primacy of one or another used in the arbitration, which under Article 15 of the Rules is a separate mat-
national law turns out to be crucial. This fact may be explained by the com- ter (see Section 8.02) or the law that gives the arbitration agreement its oblig-
prehensive and detailed nature of the international contracts involved, as atory character (see Section 8.03).
well as by the command of Article 17(2) of the Rules which provides that:
The Indian courts, however, have unfortunately made the choice of Indian
In all cases the Arbitral Tribunal shall take account of the provisions of law extremely dangerous in cases where the parties have chosen a place of ar-
the contract and the relevant trade usages. bitration other than India. They have done so by reasoning that if Indian law
Nevertheless, no matter how careful the contract draftsmen may be in seek- is the proper law of a contract, it is also (absent a contrary stipulation) the
ing to define the conditions under which they intend contractual obligations law governing the arbitration clause. and holding that this means that Indian
to be created, limited, or extinguished, it is always possible that a specific rule courts have jurisdiction to examine any complaints about the arbitration un-
of law will be required to dispose of a precise and unpredicted issue. der Indian law once the award is rendered-even if it is rendered outside In-
dia. It is of course the last proposition which runs entirely counter to the
For this reason, parties are generally not well advised to stipulate expressly legitimate expectations of contracting parties. The Indian approach also runs
that their contract is to be governed by no national law whatsoever. A stipula- counter to the international trend, 15 and has been roundly criticized.16 It was
tion of the following kind may therefore be viewed with some misgivings: believed that the Indian 1996 Arbitration Act cured this problem, 17 but in late
The present contract shall be governed by general principles of law, to 1997 the Indian Supreme Court found a way to reassert Indian hegemony
the exclusion of any single municipal system of law. over an arbitration having taken place in London. 18
If a dispute turns on a question with respect to which there cannot be a philo- In Metex v. T.E.K. Directorate, unpublished judgment of 1 March 1995, the
sophical answer based on fairness as perceived in general principles, and the Turkish Supreme Court took the unfortunate position that a reference to
contract does not contain clear provisions in this respect, the arbitrator's task "Turkish laws in force" meant not only substantive law but also the Turkish
may become impossible if he cannot refer to a specific national law. Accord- Code of Civil Procedure, and that therefore an award rendered in Switzerland
ingly. it is generally preferable to say nothing about applicable law rather which did not accept the applicability of Turkish procedural rules could not be
than to exclude expressly all municipal systems. enforced in Turkey-although there was no demonstration or even allegation
that the losing Turkish party had been prejudiced by the failure to follow any
As will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 1 7, the absence of a choice of specific procedural rule. or even that it had raised any objection as the arbi-
law need not be a handicap. It may well be that as many cases are submitted tration proceeded. When choosing a neutral venue, parties do not expect that
to ICC arbitration without the parties· stipulation of applicable law as there annulment proceedings may be brought in two different jurisdictions-par-
are with it. Frequently, the parties could not reach agreement as to applicable ticularly when one of them is that of one of the parties· home country.
law and simply left this issue-which in fact may never become relevant-to
be determined by the arbitrator.
Nonetheless. to avoid polemics (not to mention the costs and delays that
sometimes arise, especially in large cases. when vast written and oral sub- 15 The Court of Appeal of Paris set the lead in 1970 in Hecht v. Buismans 1972 REV.ARB. 67, hold-
ing that the rule under French law to the effect that a commercial agent cannot enter into a bind-
missions may be required only to reach a preliminary decision on applicable ing arbitration agreement may not be invoked to nullify an arbitration clause in a contract
law) it is generally preferable to stipulate applicable law.14 The provision between a French agent and a Netherlands company, irrespective thac the stipulated proper law
may be worded quite simply, e.g.: of the contract was that of France, because "in incemational arbicration, the agreement to arbi-
trate, whether concluded separately or within the legal document to which it relates, always has
The present agreement is governed by the laws of _ _ _ _ _ __ a complete juridical autonomy, save exceptional circumstances, from the latter.•
to the exclusion of its rules of conflict of laws. 16 See Jan Paulsson, The New Yo1* Convention's Misadventures in India. 7 MEALEY'S INT. ARB. REP. 3
(June 1992); /ntemational/urist Flays india.forOverstepping Bounds, THE PIONEER (Delhi), 6 Oc-
tober I 992, at 3. reprinted in W. MICHAEL REISMAN, W. L\URENCE CRAIG, WILLIAM PARK & JAN
PAULSSON, INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION 1242 (I 997).
14 A somewhatdifferentview is expressed by Krishnamurthi, op. dt. Note 7, who writes at21 l that 17 See Jan Paulsson, la refonne de /'arbitrage en !nde, 1996 REV. ARB. 597.
"if a particular law is specified by a party with a stronger bargaining position, the opposite party 18 Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. v. ONGC Ltd. et al. (1998) 1 SUPREME CouRT CAsES 305.

98 99
§ 7.04
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GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS GENERALLy RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS
§7.04

tracts, reducing in particular the reluctance to accept the less well- known
enforced in Turkey-although there was no demonstration or even allegation
that the losing Turkish party had been prejudiced by the failure to follow any laws of new nations.
specific procedural rule, or even that it had raised any objection as the arbi- on occasion, a party's reticence with respect to the proposed applicable law is
tration proceeded. When choosing a neutral venue, parties do not expect that not based on an unspecified fear of the unknown. but on a perfectly well-un-
annulment proceedings may be brought in two different jurisdictions-par- derstood feature of the law in question. Thus, one may be prepared to accept
ticularly when one of them is that of one of the parties' home country. the law of country X except for the fact that the Civil Code i~ that cou~try pro-
vides that contractual liquidated damages clauses are sub1ect t? revte~ a~d
The practical consequence is that the well-advised non-Indian drafter in such revision by courts as triers of fact. Anot!"1er ~xaI?p.le, often seen m practtce, is
circumstances should either eschew Indian law as the proper law of the con- the exclusion of the Swiss Code of Obhgauons hberal rules of set-off (com-
tract, or stipulate that the arbitration clause is subject to the law of the place pensation), which may be unacceptable t~ a party fearful of having to wait for
of arbitration (see Section 8.03). The same precaution should be taken with contractual payment pending long heanngs on alleged defects ~f goods or
respect to Pakistani law. and perhaps also other neighboring countries which services it has provided.20 Accordingly, clauses have been negouated to the
might be influenced by the Indian approach. effect that:
Under certain circumstances, when parties are prepared to accept an applica- The Jaw of x shall govern. to the express exclusion of Article ___ of
ble law but wish to make sure that by such a choice they have not under- its Civil Code.
mined the effect of specific provisions of the contract, the following wording
The practitioner should realize that international party autono~y is put _t~ its
may be adopted:
test in this context. It is not the authors' purpose to take a doctnnal position.
All substantive issues in dispute shall be decided by reference to the but simply to point out that parties' ingenuity in ~rafti~g the_se ~es of
terms of the present agreement; in the event that it is found to be silent clauses has limits. Provided. however, that a.fraude a la !01 (a supulau~n of
with respect to a particular issue. such issue shall be decided in accor- law manifestly intended only for the purposes of avoiding legal o~li~auons)
dance with the substantive law of (country) _ _ _ _ _ _ __ is not demonstrated, ICC arbitrators will tend to uphold the parues agree-
The purpose of this clause is to avoid that the stipulation of a national law ment. In the exceptional case where the clause is not ?iven_ full effect, the
adds obligations to those defined in the contract, or limits rights intended to pragmatist may observe that he is not worse off for havmg tned.
be created. This type of clause may also be important to the parties' bilateral May •general principles of law" be chosen to gov.em an intem~tional c?n-
dialogue before arbitration commences. In other words, it may reduce a tract? As seen above, such principles can hardly dispose of precise technical
party's confidence in its ability to invoke an alleged provision of applicable legal issues such as prescription of claims (statute of limitations). ~v~n as to
law that is contrary to the terms of the contract. Arbitrators may be expected matters of interpretation and emphasis, the body of "general pnnciples of
to take this stipulation as a reinforcement of the command of Article 17(2) of law" is neither well-defined nor readily researched (see Chapte~ ~S)._On the
the Rules. If, to the contrary, the intent to give precedence to the contract is other hand, it is argued in the name of realism that contracts ?n~matmg and
disregarded, one may still argue that nothing was lost in the attempt. performed in an international milieu s~ould n?t be ~ealt ":1th m the same
It should not be forgotten that the choice of governing law does not only con- manner as contracts having no connecuon outside a smgle given count1!'. To
tribute rules for decision in case the contract is ambiguous or incomplete; it apply one national law may yield results that appear ~pricious and arbitrary
also implies the application of the mandatory rules of the chosen law.19 (A when set against the parties' expectations. An ICC arbitrator·~ tas~ when ap-
·mandatory rule" is one that cannot be altered by contractual stipulation.) plying Swedish law to an intemati~nal co~t~act is not to imagine_ how a
But if one's subjection to mandatory rules is a matter of volition (choice of Swedish judge would treat the same issue ansmg between _two sw~1sh par-
law), it stands to reason that one may contractually limit that subjection. ties. In other words. there appears to be a "common law" ?f ~~ternauona~ ~on­
This argument, comforted by the wide berth given to party autonomy in inter- tracts, having a moderating effect with respect to pecuhannes of mumc1pal
national arbitration, favors the upholding of clauses that limit applicable law law. Even within national legal systems it is perfectly accepta~le to re~er to
to matters not dealt with by the contract. trade usages. and one body of trade usages may be that of mternauonal
trade, thus giving application to Article 17(2) of the Rules. Indeed, even the
It may be posited that giving effect to this kind of clause will favor the con-
tractual acceptance of a wider range of national laws in international con-
20 The arbitral tribunal in ICC case 3540/1980, I ICC AWARDS 105, 399, expressly recognized this

19 See Pierre Mayer, Mandatory Rules qfLaw in International Arbitration, 2 ARB. !ITT. 274 (1986). possibility.

101
100
 §7.04 GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS §7.04

most vehement opponents of "general principles· as governing law would al- ceptable possibility that the law would be modified in contradiction with con-
low the application of lex mercatoria as rules of custom.2t In sum, without tractual undertakings. 26
taking sides in a complex academic debate, one may well conclude that in or-
dinary commercial contracts, the stipulation of "general principles" does not Similar reasoning was applied by the ICC arbitral tribunal in ICC Case
have demonstrably greater positive consequences than those generally flow- 1434/1975, I ICC AWARDS 263. This presumption has not, ho~ever, always
ing from Article 17(2) of the Rules,22 and still leaves unresolved the question been accepted by arbitrators.27 According!~, it behoo~es negotiators on both
of the ultimately applicable law.23 sides to seek to define a clear understanding of applicable law. Some solu-
tions are as follows:
When parties cannot reach agreement, they sometimes stipulate that both of
their respective national laws are to be applicable to the extent they are in -Acceptance of the law of the contracting State: Some co_n~r~cting States_ re-
concordance. quire such acceptance {and may invoke regulauons pr~h1b1tmg State sub1ec-
tion to foreign law) and are in a position to impose this prefere_n~. In most
To deal with the case of conflict, they may provide that the arbitrator shall
cases, the fear of legislative change for the sole purpose o_f a~h1evmg an al-
somehow determine an intermediate position between the two results man-
tered legal position in a particular contractual relationship is exaggerated.
dated by the two bodies of law. This is an unsatisfactory concept, as may be
Even if such an event should occur, the neutrality of an ICC tribunal may be
seen if one assumes that Law No. 1 deems the contract to be invalid, and Law
such that it would refuse, as a matter of international ordre public, to counte-
No. 2 does not. No "intermediate" position is conceivable. A preferred variant
nance abuse of legislative power. 28
would be to let the arbitrator determine applicable law in the absence of con-
cordance. He would then do so in accordance with Article 17( 1) of the Rules. - "Freezing" the law of the contracting State as of the date of signature of the
In most cases, at least the rules qfcorJflict of the two countries will be in con- contract. It is hardly reasonable to expect that by accepting such a cla'!s~ a
cordance, and the arbitrator would follow predictable conflict oflaws reason- sovereign State has tied its hands with respect to legislation in the ~ubhc in-
ing to determine which of the two laws (or even perhaps a third law) will terest. Rather, the clause would constitute an instruction to the arbttrator to
apply.24 consider changes to be inapplicable for the purposes of establishing _contrac-
tual rights and obligations. In other words, the State may change _its l_aws,
With respect to the particular case of contracts between States or State enti- but such a change will not add to its co-contractant's contractual obhgauons,
ties and private parties, the question of applicable law is particularly pointed:
and if it detracts from its contractual entitlements, the consequent loss would
the State generally does not, as a matter of principle, wish to subject its con- be repaired by a corresponding award of damages. Sophisticated long-term
tract to the laws of a foreign co-contractant; the private party is reluctant to
submit to a law whose contents may be altered by the State.25
Some arbitral tribunals have presumed that in such a context the parties did
not intend for the law of the contracting State to apply because of the unac- 26 In the 1963 award rendered by Pierre Cavin. judge of the Swiss Federal Tribunal (Supreme
Coun). in the ad hoc arbitration between sayphire _Lnremational Petroleums Ltd. (Canada) and
the National Iranian Oil Company, extracts in English m 19~ INTERNATl~AL AN_D ~OMPAM;1VE
Lhw QUARTERLY 1001. the sole arbitrator viewed the following cons1derat1ons, reinforced. by
other factors, as paramount in excluding the application of the law of the defendant State entity:
21 See Wilhelm Wen?).er, les principesgeneraux du droit en tant que loi du contrat, 1982 REVUE CRI- ·under the present agreement, the foreign company was b~~~~g financial a_nd techni_cal as-
TIQUE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL PRIVt 496, n.60. sistance to Iran. which involved it in investments, respons1b1hties, and considerable nsks_. It
therefore seems normal that they should be protected against any legislative changes which
22 "It is not excluded that ('general principles oflaw and justice) are, panly, the same as the 'trade
might alter the character of the contract and that they should be assured of ~me legal ~­
usages·. which arbitrators have to take into account anyway, according to Article 17(2) of the
rity. This could not be guaranteed by them by the outright application of lraman law, which
ICC Rules." award of 29 November 1980 in ICC Case 3380/1980, I ICC AWARDS 96, 413 (Pierre
Lalive, Chairman). it is within the power of the Iranian State to change.· Id. at 1012.
27 See, e.g.. Saudi Arabia v. Arabian American Oil Company (the Aramco award), 1%3 INTERNh-
23 An examination of the relevant arbitration clauses in 237 cases submicred to the ICC Coun in
TIONAL LEGAL REPORTS I I 7.
1987 revealed thac only one provided that disputes should be set!led "on the basis of interna-
tional law," and none mentioned lex mercatoria, Stephen Bond, How to Dreft an Arbitration 28 See ICC ease 1803/1972 between the Societe des Grands Travauxde Marseille and the East Paki-
Clause, 6 J. INT. ARB. 65 (September 1989). stan tnduscrial Development Corporalion. summarized in V Y1:'R~K 177 (l?BO),_ where An-
drew Manin. Q.C .. sitting as sole arbitra!or, had to come to gnps w1_1h ~ Pres1den11al Order of
24 See Yves Derains. L 'application cumulative par /'arbitre des systemes de co'!flit de lois interesses
au litige. 1972 REV. ARB. 99. Bangladesh which in effect purponed to extinguish contractual obhgauons of the defendant
State company. He concluded, id. at 181, thac:
25 Seegenerally Pierre Mayer, La neutralisation du pouvoir normatjfde l'Etat en matiere de contrats
d'Etat, 1986 JDI 5. "It is ... painfully clear ... that the Disputed Debts Order ~as ?1ad: for the sole purpose of
being injecced as a spoliatory measure into the present arb1trat1on.

102
103
 § 7.04 GENERALLY RECOMMENDED ADDmONAL ELEMENTS

contracts involving States often specifically envisage the possibility of legis-

lative change, and define its financial consequences as between the parties.
- Accepting the law of the contracting State, but only insofar as it is in concor-
dance with the law of the private co-contractant. The potential difficulties of
such a clause have been discussed above. A frequent variant is to accept the CHAPTER 8
law of the State insofar as it is in accordance with a non-national body of
norms. such as international law, "general principles of law," equity, norms
recognized in the international petroleum industry, and the like. This type of OCCASIONALLY USEFUL ELEMENTS
reference to more than one system of law was illustrated by the three
well-known arbitrations decided in the t 970's and arising out of the Libyan
nationalisation of oil concessions. As required by the Libyan Petroleum Code,
each of the litigious concession agreements was governed by Libyan law to
the extent it was harmonious with international law; all issues with respect
to which there was no such concordance should be decided in accordance
with general principles of law. While this construct might have benefited 8.01 Negotiation, conciliation, or mediation as precondition
from simplification, the fact is that all three arbitral tribunals were able to op- Contracts often stipulate that in case of dispute, the parties are required to at-
erate under these provisions. 29 tempt to reach settlement by negotiation, _c?nc~liation, or_ mediat~o~ (or a
combination thereof) before proceeding to lmgauon. Occas1onally, it 1s e~en
stated that such settlement efforts must be given a chance for a stated penod
of time before adversarial proceedings may be commenced.
The attractiveness of such a "cooling-down" mechanism possibly appears
greater at the time of negotiating the contract than at the time the ~is?ute
arises. If both of the parties feel it is in their interest to settle, negot1a~1o~s
will ensue irrespective of what the contract provides. If one of the parties 1s
convinced of the pointlessness of negotiation, the settlement-efforts precon-
dition may seem to it to be no more than a hypocritical nuisance requiringpro
Jonna compliance. I
Nonetheless. there are circumstances when such preconditions are calle~ for.
One such case is when contractual relationships are so complex and dehcate
See also Case No 723 of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute, Setenave v. Seccebello; as reported
in che FINANCIAL nMES on 2 7 February 1986, the ocherwise unpublished award unanimously re- that the parties realize that an adversarial proceeding ending with a
fused to recognize a Portuguese decree designed to procure contractual benefits to a Portuguese cut-and-dried decision (likely to involve termination of contract and the pay-
State--0wned shipyard in detrimenc to the rights of a foreign purchaser of a supertanker, holding ment of damages) would be deeply unsatisfactory _for both_ sides._ In o~her
chac to do so would be contrary to "conapts of public policy and morality common to au trading words, the parties share a profound desire to continue their relat1onsh1ps,
nacions," and chis despite the fact that the contracc was in principle governed by Portuguese law.
A less drastic way to reach the same result was suggested in 1982 by the distinguished ad hoc and, fearing the disruptive potential oflitigation, want to ~lace as many buff-
tribunal in the familiar Amtnoil v. Kuwait arbitration: • ... Kuwait law is a highly evolwd sys- ers as possible between themselves and face-to-face conflict.
tem as to which the Government has been at pains to stress thac 'established public interna-
cional law is necessarily part of the law of Kuwait,'" IX YEARBOOK 71, ac 73 (1984). S« also In the latter situation, it would appear useful to give some content to the pro-
Section 35.03(i) . cess of negotiation or mediation. Specific mechanisms for the facilitation of
.29 The three awards have been published as follows: 53 INTERNATIONAL LAW REPORTS 297 (1979)
(!he BP Award): 19 77 JOI 350-389, English translation in 17 11..M 3 ( 1978), (the Ta-
aco-Ca/asiatic Award); 20 11..M 1 (1981) (the UJ1MCO Awani). S« also the American Arbitracion
Association award of 24 Augusc 1978, Revere Copper and Brass, Inc. (U.S.) v. Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (U.S.), 17 11..M 1321 (1978); extracts in VYF.ARBOOK 202 (1980) {princi- In ICC ease 2478/1974, excerpts in Ill YEARBOOK 222 (1978): 1975 J~l. 926, the arb~c~l tri~unal
ples of public internacional law considered applicable to an agreement between the Jamaican explicitly rejecced an argument chat the existence of a claus~ providing for negob~~10~ m ~-e
Government and a U.S. mining company because it "could be regarded as belonging to lhe cate- evenc of currency fluctuation implied an obligation co reestablish the contractual equ1hbnum if 1t
gory of long cerm economic development contracts"). were alcered by such an event.

104 105
 § 8.02 OCCASIONALLY USEFUL ELEMENTS OCCASIONAU.Y USEAJL ELEMENTS §8.03

settlement attempts may be defined. In the ICC context, such a mechanism is appears to work without great problems (see Chapter 16). Concretely, the par-
ready-made: conciliation under the ICC Rules (see Section 38.01). ties have a number of choices:
At any rate, one should be extremely careful not to confuse settlement efforts -To say nothing, in which case the arbitrator is free to determine rules of pro-
with arbitration. In particular, it is fatal to the arbitral process to provide that cedure if necessary to resolve issues with respect to which the ICC Rules are
the arbitrators' decision must be acceptable to both sides. This simply is not silent.
arbitration. It means that the ordinary courts retain full jurisdiction.2 -To adopt the rules of procedure of the municipal law of the seat of arbitration.
8.02 Rules or law of procedure -To adopt the rules of procedure of another municipal law. (This possibility is
explicitly acknowledged by the New York Convention, as well as by the
When referring to the French notion of the law applicable to the procedure
French Decree of 1981 on International Arbitration.)S
arbitrate. one must realize that the expression may mean either of two
things: the rules of procedure to be applied by the arbitrator (narrow mean- -To adopt the rules of procedure established by a body other than a national
ing) or the law applicable to the arbitral proceedings as an institution (broad legislature, such as the UNCITRAL Rules.
meaning). The latter concept may be referred to as "the law of the arbitra- -To set forth a number of specific rules in the arbitration clause itself, dispos-
tion." It applies to the arbitration agreement, the relationships between the ing of the various questions treated throughout this Chapter 8.
parties and the arbitrator. the rules of procedures to be applied by the arbitra-
tor, and the award itself. The choice of procedural rules may be particularly significant if the place of
arbitration has not been stipulated (see Section 7.02). Since the chairman will
The law of the arbitration may be conceived as "a system of law underlying generally be a jurist trained in the country of the seat ultimately chosen, he
the proceedings," which in the international context may at different stages may be used to rules of procedure different from those with which the parties'
of the process implicate several national laws relevant to the determination counsel are familiar.
of the obligatory effect of the arbitral mechanism.3
Quite often, the parties are able to resolve some issues of procedure at the
In practice, the important thing to note about the law of international arbitra- stage of the Terms of Reference (see Chapter 15).
tion is that parties have great latitude in choosing rules of procedure. The ICC
Rules represent at once a product and an affirmation of this freedom, Article 8.03 Law governing the arbitration agreement
15(1) providing that:
As set forth in Section 5.04, the arbitration agreement is analysed as having a
The proceedings before the Arbitral Tribunal shall be governed by these legal existence independent of that of the contract in which it appears, and as
Rules and, where these Rules are silent, by any rules which the parties explained in Section 5.05, the law applicable to the arbitration agreement
or, failing them, the Arbitral Tribunal may settle on, whether or not ref- need not be the same as the one applicable to the main contract.
erence is thereby made to the Rules of procedure of a national law to be
applied to the arbitration. The parties may therefore seek to stipulate expressly the law to be applied to
determine the validity and effect of the arbitration clause. Such stipulations
The concept embodied in the last phrase first appeared in the ICC Rules in
1975. The 1955 Rules had provided that unless the parties agreed otherwise,
the rules of procedure of the place of arbitration would apply. Article 15( 1) is 5 Artide Vofthe New York Convention passim, particularly paragraph V(l)(e). Artide 1491 of the
a manifestation of the possibility open to parties to delocalize ICC arbitration French Code of Civil Procedure.
(see Section 1.06). It has given rise to academic controversy4 but in practice In an unusual twist on this theme, the English Court of Appeal. in Naviera Amazonica Peruana
S.A. v. Compania International de Seguros del Peru, [1988) I fTLR 100. excerpts in XIII YEAR·
BOOK 156 (1988), held that: "in the absence of some express and dear provision to the contraiy,
it must follow that an agreement that the curial or procedural law of an arbitration is to be the
law of X has the consequence that Xis also to be the 'seat' of the arbitration.·
2 For a case in point. see the decision of the Landgericht of Heidelberg (23 October 1972) con- In the premises, language to be found in two different documents (general conditions and en-
firmed by the Oberlandesgericht of Karlsruhe (13 March 1973), summarized in 11 YEARBOOK 239 dorsement) supported contradictoiy potential venues (Lima and London) but the only specific
(1977). .
reference to arbitration spoke of "the conditions and laws of London.· The English courts held
3 See Jan Paulsson,ArllilTalion Unbound: Awanl Detachedjtom the U1w <Jfits CounayefOrigin, in that the seat should therefore be London. For the articulation of the "potential practical prob-
1981 THE INTERNATIONAi.AND COMPARATIVE u.w QUARTERLY 358, at 376 et seq. lem ·of enforcing an award rendered in London pursuant to the "once-in-a-blue-moon set of cir-
4 See William W. Park and Jan Paulsson, 711e Binding Force <J/lntemational ArllilTalAwards, in 23 cumstances· of this case in the courts of Peru, see Martin Hunter, Case comment, 1988 Li.OYD"S
VIRGINIA JOURNAL Of INrERNATIONAL U.w 253 (1983) and the references cited therein. MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL U.W QUARTERLY REYIEW, at 23.

106 107
§8.04 OCCASIONALCY USEFUL ELEMENTS OCCASIONALLY USEFUL ELEMENTS §8.04

are rare, perhaps because the parties are satisfied that if such a question well make things clear and stipulate directly that Indonesian law is applica-
arises, their submission to arbitration will not be invalidated by any law ble to the contract.
likely to be applied. In recent years, however, unfortunate cases in India and
In other words, if the parties cannot agree to a proper law, how can they
Pakistan have given a new importance to this matter. These cases have held
that even when an arbitration is conducted outside the country, local courts agree to the rules of conflict that determine the proper law?
may control the arbitral process (e.g. by issuing injunctions against arbitra- Yet it happens. One explanation is that neither side in fact does know the
tors or setting aside awards) if they consider that their law applies to the ar- rules of conflict of the neutral country under consideration. Many countries
bitration agreement. 6 This approach defeats the objective of neutrality have very little in the way of precedents or learning in the field of conflicts.
sought by parties to international contracts. It suggests that with respect to And even those that do generally favor a ·grouping of contacts" approach
legal systems which might follow these examples, foreign parties should not that leaves room for considerable subjective appreciation. In other words, one
accept their law as applicable to the substance of the contract without care- really does not know what the applicable Jaw will be until the arbitral tribu-
fully isolating the arbitration clause. To this effect, they may be inspired by nal decides. ·
Article 59(6) of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Arbitration
Rules, which provides: Even in cases where the result of the application of given rules of conflict is
quite predictable (thus, the Jaw of the seller is consistently applied to sales
The law applicable to the arbitration shall be the arbitration law of the contracts by Western European courts), the "indirect" method of approaching
place of arbitration, unless the parties have expressly agreed on the ap- applicable Jaw may be appropriate for formal reasons. For example, negotia-
plication of another arbitration law and such agreement is permitted by tors for State trading organizations of some countries occasionally offer the
the law of the place of arbitration. 7 thought that it would be incompatible with the "sovereignty" of their country
Alternatively, the parties simply assume that the law applicable to the main for them to agree to subject the contract to a foreign law. It may be easier to
contract also will govern the arbitration clause. If the arbitrator is convinced state chat the arbitrators in deciding the case are to apply the rules of conflict
that this was the mutual understanding of the parties, he would doubtless of some neutral country. If the result is that a foreign law is applied, this will
feel impelled to accept that conclusion.8 be the arbitral tribunal·s responsibility. The State organization itself will not
In circumstances where a competing potentially applicable Jaw is thought un- have yielded "sovereignty" in this respect.
favorable to arbitration, an explicit stipulation to the effect that the law appli- It should be recalled in.fine ifthe parties do not agree in this respect, the arbi-
cable to the arbitration clause shall be that applicable to the rest of the tral tribunal shall, under Article 17(1) of the Rules:
contract may be useful.
apply the rules of law which it determines to be appropriate.
8.04 Rules of conflict of laws Much attention has been given to the manner in which arbitrators determine
If one has not been able to agree to a substantive law, it may seem somewhat the ·appropriate" rules oflaw, and we shall revert co this issue in Chapter 17.
absurd to seek to stipulate that the rules of conflict of a given country (or For present purposes, it suffices to say that ICC arbitrators here as in other re-
those invented by resolutions or commentary) shall be applied to determine spects tend to seek solutions in harmony with the parties' legitimate expecta-
the substantive law. After all, if one is prepared co accept the rules of conflict tions. In one notable award, a sole arbitrator, sitting in Switzeriand, found
in vigor in Country X, why do the parties not simply take legal advice from a the following succinct expression of his search for a neutral method: "Failing
jurist of that country? On finding out that the courts of Country X would ap- an international convention or a uniform law which is applicable in the
ply, say, Indonesian law to the envisaged contract, they could then just as States of the contracting parties (France and Spain), the problem must be ex-
amined on the basis of certain general rules of connection of international
private law. •9
6 See Sir Michael Kerr, Concord and Co'!flict in International Arbitration. 13 ARB. INT. 137 (1997);
Jan Paulsson. 7he New York Corrvention's Misadventures in India, 7 MEALErs INT. ARB. REP. 3
(June 1992); and. regrettably demonstrating chat this problem was not overcome by the 1996 ln·
dian Arbitration Act, Sumitomo Heavy Industries ltd. v. ONGC ltd. et al.. (1998) 1 SUPREME 9 ICC Case 263711975. I ICC AWARDS 13. ICC arbitrators. particularly in light of Article 17(1) of the
COURT CASES 305. Rules, characteristically hold that "the international arbitrator has no lex.fori, from which he can
borrow rules of contlkt of laws; award in ICC Case 1512/1971. I ICC AWARDS 3, 33, 37. 207. Ac-
7 XXYEARBOOK240,at361 (1995). cord, awards rendered by Judge Lagergren as sole arbitrator in the ad hoc B.P. v. Libya arbitra·
8 It will be recalled, however. that in the ICC award described in Section 5.05 (£11w Chemical), the tion, award of October 10. 1973 on the merics. 53 INTERNATIONAL uw REPORTS 297, at Section
arbitrators applied international usages. co the exclusion of any national law, even though IV.A; by the ICC tribunal presided by Professor Banifol in ICC Case 1250/1964, I ICC AWARDS 30;
French law was applicable co the main contract and by the tribunal in ICC Case 3540/1980, I ICC AWARDS 105, 399.

108 109
§8.05 OCCASIONAILY USEFUL ELEMENTS OCCASIONAUY USERJL ELEMENTS §8.05

8.05 Powers of amiable compositeur mean is that the arbitrator acting as amiable compositeur will not apply the
The notion of the arbitrator acting as amiable compositeur appears to be acre- letter of the law unless he is in fact satisfied that it corresponds with fairness.
ation of French legal thinking. An arbitrator must apply the law, and not his But when he decides not to apply the law, what is the amiable compositeur fi-
own concepts of fairness, unless the parties give him the power to disregard nally doing? To refer to intuition or legal "culture" is to invite the application
strict rules of law. If they do so, he becomes an amiable compositeur. Li- of subjective values, a dangerous thing in view of the fact that the interna-
terally, the expression could be translated as "author of friendly compro- tional framework must fit a world where ethical values are not always
mise." but it would be a mistake to conclude from the word "friendly" that shared. Having surveyed a number of awards rendered by amiable
this is the same thing as a conciliator or mediator. The amiable compositeur compositeur arbitrators, Mr. Loquin concludes that it is possible to discern
remains an arbitrator; he renders a decision that is binding on the parties. two objective approaches. The first is centered on rules of a general nature.
On the other hand, the amiable compositeur need not take the law as he finds such as (a) a presumption of intended equality in the contractual quid pro
it. He may refashion rules in the interest of fairness as he perceives it. He may
quo; (b) a presumption of intended equality of risk; and (c) applying the re-
thus be said to have the function of legislator as well as judge. It would there- quirement of good faith. The second is more innovative: to work toward the
solution which seems to have the best prospects of being accepted by both
fore be wrong to conclude that an ordinary arbitrator acts as an amiable
parties without compromising their potential future dealings.
compositeur ifhe applies lex mercatoria or even principles of equity. The ordi-
nary arbitrator must determine that such principles in fact exist, and that Are arbitrators acting as amiables compositeurs free to temper the application
they may be applied to the case at hand. of contractual terms if they feel that this would result in harshness in a par-
The expression amiable compositeur does not seem to have an English equiv- ticular case? One commentator has suggested12 that such powers are most
likely to be recognized in cases where, at the time they agree to amiable
alent, and appears in French in contracts drafted in other languages. Para-
doxically, the amiable compositeur function is. according to a comprehensive
compositeur arbitration, the parties recognize that their contract is subject to
French dissertation by Eric Loquin, in practice more frequently carried out by unforeseeable future events. This may be the case with respect to long-term
contracts or with others. such as a motion-picture distribution agreement,
U.S. arbitrators (who do not think of themselves as doing anything special in
whose financial consequences depend on highly unpredictable consumer re-
so acting) than by French arbitrators. 10 One might surmize that this phenom-
sponse. In these situations, one may conclude that the parties specifically in-
enon is traceable to the wide awareness in Anglo-American legal develop-
tended to reduce the drastic consequences of risk by relying on the wisdom of
ment of "equity" as an integral element of "law.·
the arbitrator, and that that was the reason they gave him amiable
Nevertheless, the fact that amiable compositeur arbitration is likely not to be compositeur powers. In an ordinary contract, tempering the contractual pro-
well understood by national judges in certain countries, such as England, 11 visions would not have such a justification: it would be tampering.
makes it unwise to provide for amiable compositeur arbitration in such
The fact remains, in the international setting, that arbitrators tend to adjust
places.
the application of law in favor of giving full effect to the parties· agreement
The consequences of giving the arbitrator amiable compositeur powers does rather than to "adjust" the parties' agreement in order to give effect to a per-
not include the neutralization of imperative norms of public policy (ordre sonal evaluation of what would have been a fair bargain. Indeed, interna-
public). The amiable compositeur arbitrator cannot have greater freedom than tional arbitrators are likely to moderate the application of law in favor of the
that of the parties at the time they established his mission. Nor does this parties' agreement even if they do not have amiable compositeur authority. 13
power mean that the rules of law will necessarily be disregarded. After all, in
In the specific framework of ICC arbitration. one may well wonder if there are
a given case, the rule of law may indeed coincide with fairness. What it does
any practical consequences of according amiable compositeur powers to the
arbitrator. After all, Article 17(2) of the Rules provide that:

10 L'AMJABLE.COMPOSITION EN DROIT COMPARE ET INTERNATIONAL, Librairies Techniques, Paris, 1980.

In all cases the Arbitral Tribunal shall take account of the provisions of
The t 978 version of the Rules of Procedures of the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Com- the contract and the relevant trade usages. (Emphasis added.)
mission (!AC'.Aq contains a recommended clause providing that the "arbitral tribunal shall de-
cide as amiable compositeur or er aequo et bono."
11 See REDFERN & HUNTER at 37, U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, Consultation Document on
Proposed Clauses and SchedulesJoran Arbitration Bill, 10 ARB. INT. 189, at 224-5 (1994). In fact,
the English Arbitration Act I 996 did not embrace the concept; see Stewart Shackleton, 11re Appli- 12 Ernest Metzger, case note, 1982 REV. ARB. 220, at 222.
cable Law in International Arbitration Under the New English Aro 375, at 379 (I 997). 13 JULIAN LEW. APl'l.JCABLE LAW IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION (1978).

110 111
§ 8.05 OCCASIONAuY USEFUL ELEMENTS OCCASIONAUY USEFUL ELEMENTS §8.05

If the ordinary arbitrator shall in all cases refer to trade usages, one would ex- realizes that something more is asked of him than to determine the letter of
pect him rarely, if ever, to disregard settled expectations in a particular type the law and apply it to the facts. In both cases, the principles oflaw are inevi-
of industry. And it would certainly be unusual that the negotiators not only tably part of the context on the basis of which one may determine what had
perceive that the contract is contrary to usage, but want to allow the arbitra- been the parties' legitimate expectations when entering into contract. In fact,
tor to be able to repair matters as amiable compositeur by disregarding what one may safely assume that a quantitative analysis of ICC awards would re-
was drafted. veal no significant difference in the number of references to legal rules or
principles if they were grouped under the categories of "equity decisions" and
Since it is difficult to conceive that draftsmen suffer from such doubts as to
the appropriateness of the contractual rules they have defined that they amiable compositeur decisions, respectively.
would-in the same breath, as it were-expressly empower the arbitrators to Nevertheless, as a matter of contract drafting, it is clear that if the parties de-
disregard these rules, one is left with the neutralization of strict rules of law sire to give their arbitrator the maximum freedom to fashion his decision ac-
as the fundamental motive for granting amiable compositeur powers. There cording to his personal judgment, they should give him the power of amiable
may be complex cases where the impact of one or more potentially applicable compositeur rather than to authorize him to decide in equity. For if there is a
laws is difficult for the negotiators to measure, particularly in an unknown difference between the two concepts. it is that the arbitrator is more bound to
country, or negotiating under severe time constraints. Under such circum- the law in the latter case.
stances, it may be felt useful and appropriate, by stipulating amiable The question is then whether the parties do not prefer the predictability of ap-
compositeur arbitration, to reduce the risk that unintended technicalities of plication of precise norms laid down by governing law and (more importantly
an imperfectly apprehended applicable law prevent the arbitrator from giving in international contracts, which are generally very complete) agreements as
effect to the parties· intent. negotiated, on the grounds that this perspective allows one to discern the
In ICC arbitral practice, the amiable compositeur question comes up at the rules of the game of performance: any future arbitration will be won if one
time of drafting the Terms of Reference, since Article 18(1)(g) of the Rules in- has been more scrupulous than one's co-contractant in respecting legal and
vites the parties to specify in that document whether they wish to grant such contractual obligations.
powers. At this ripe stage of litigation, it is unusual that the parties reach It should be kept in mind, finally, that while they may disregard certain con-
agreement, since it is generally apparent who is favored by a legalistic ap- tractual clauses in order to restore a fair commercial balance to the parties'
proach, and who would benefit from giving wide berth to arguments based on bargain. ts amiable compositeur arbitrators may not rewrite the contract by
equity. Accordingly, if there is to be agreement regarding amiable creating new obligations. They may adjust or disregard. but not create (see
compositeur powers, it generally will occur in the initial arbitration clause.
generally Chapter 18).
Is there a difference between giving the arbitrator power to decide "in equity" The following clause appeared in an English language contract:
(or ex aequo et bona) as opposed to acting as amiable compositeur? This ques-
tion is a controverted one among scholars.14 The arbitral tribunal shall have the broadest powers to decide as an equi-
table mediator upon the issues submitted to it, without needing to ob-
One rather doubts that it makes a great deal of difference in practice. Whether
serve legal or procedural rules.
an arbitrator is asked to act as amiable compositeur or to decide in equity, he
This is a typical amiable compositeur clause. However, the expression "equi-
table mediator" (a clear misnomer inconsistent with the very concept of an ar-
14 In his commentary to the swiss lntercantonal Concordat on Arbitration, Andre Panchaud wrote bitrator) should have been replaced by the French expression amiable
Datly in his note under Article 31: "The award in equity is that rendered by an amiable compositeur. which like.force mqjeure appears to be the best way to say what
compositeur. • The official German text of the t 961 European Convention on International Com-
mercial Arbitration reftects the same perception, translating the decision of an amiable
compositeur as being one rendered "in accordance with equity".
The 1965 ICSID Convention arguably also assumes the same identity of functions since it refers
only to decisions er ~uo et /Jono, and not amiable compositeur. Wilhelm Wengler, for his pan.
insists on the difference between the two concepts, arguing that a decision in equity is but a ·re- 15 Accord, PHILIPPE foUCJWU>. ARBITRAGE COMMERCIAL ll'ITERNATIONAL 404-5 (1965), cited with ap-
fined" application of the law (i.e. conscious of fairness in a particular context). whereas the ami- proval by the ICC arbiual tribunal in Case 3267/1979, excerpts in 1980 (DI 961; excerpts in Eng-
able compositeur seeks a solution based on considerations independent of legal norms but lish in VII YEARBOOK 96 (1982).
deemed to be important given the parties' particular dealings and oontext; see Les prindpes Even if acting as amiables compositeurs, arbitrators are not, •according to general principles ....
generaux du droit en tant que loi du contTllt, 1982 REvUE CRl11QUE ou DRorr ll'ITERNATIONAL PRlvt authorized to take a decision contrary to an absolutely constraining law. particularly the rules
478-9. concerning public order or morals." award in ICC Case 1677/1975. I ICC AWARDS 20.

112 113
 §8.06 OCCASloNALLY USEA.JL ELEMENTS OCCASIONALLY USEA.JL ELEMENTS §8.06

one means. If one is truly loath to use a foreign phrase, the following clause Many appear not to have envisaged the problem in legislation or case law. Yet
covers the concept of amiable compositeur: in the practice of international contract negotiation and international arbitra-
The a~bitrator shall be entitled to decide according to equity and good tion, the adaptation of contracts is a matter of importance. and ICC arbitrators
conscience and shall not be obliged to follow the strict rules of Iaw.16 frequently deal with adaptation clauses.20
8.06 Powers to adapt the contract Although ICC arbitrators have on at least one occasion held the language of
the ICC Model Clause to be broad enough to allow them to adjust the price of a
Arbitration is not invariably the settlement of a dispute. There are situations long-term contract when the parries fail to agree to a periodic price revision as
where the parties simply need to adapt their contract in view of factors un- contemplated under the contract,21 drafters seeking the possibility ofarbitral
known at the time of contracting. Two categories of adaptation may be in- adaptation of contracts should include a specific clause recognizing its need
volved: filling gaps and modifying the contract. and setting forth as explicitly as possible the elements that are to determine
Filling gaps may be necessary for several reasons. It may be that the missing (a) when an adaptation is called for and (b) the extent to which it should be
element is of great importance, but the parties simply were unable to take effected.
into account factors imponderable at the time of contracting. The arbitrators In response to the apparent needs of international practice, the ICC has at-
may even determine the contractual price, provided applicable law allows this tempted to offer a variety of alternative approaches to the matter. These
mission to be entrusted to a third party. In this context, the arbitrator is not to mechanisms-conciliation or technical expertise-may either complement or
~ecid~ a disp_ute, but simply to complete the contract. In other cases, the par- supplant the device of giving the arbitrators the mission to adapt the con-
ties simply dtd not take the trouble to specify certain details, thinking them to tract. They are described in Chapter 38.
be minor and unlikely to give rise to difficulties. If. to the contrary, a dispute
arises, they want the arbitrator to supply the missing term of the contract,
naturally in the light of practice in the relevant industry. Thus, the arbitrator
ma:>' be called on to rule on the type of packaging in which goods ought to be
dehvered to the buyer, the parties having stipulated without more a certain
quantity to be delivered "FOB airport, •t 7 or a total number of x deliveries is difficulty arises if the tribunal is authorised to fill such gaps;" Albert Jan van den Berg with re-
specified for a total period of Y months without defining the intervals be- spect to the Netherlands, VOL Ill. SUPPL. 7 (April 1987) at 7: "the new Act ... explicitly allows
parties to authorize an arbitral tribunal to modify or fill gaps in a contract" (Art. I020(4)(c)): buc
tween individual deliveries. Bernardo Cremades with respect to Spain, VOL. Ill, SUPPL 13 (September 1992) at6 that the situ-
ation ·needs to be clarified by case law;" Robert Briner with respect to Switzerland, VOL Ill.
Modifying the contract may be particularly vital to the success oflong- term pro- SUPPL 13 (September 1992) at 12 that "the opinion that arbitrators cannot be entrusted with the
jects, with respect to which the evolution of the product market, rates of currency power to fill gaps is probably too restrictive. but this question is still undecided.· For more de-
exchange, technological developments, politics, relative competitive advantages, tailed discussion. see Bernard Oppetit, Arbitragejuridictionnel et arbitrage contraccuel, 1977
and the like, may make it highly desirable to provide for an arbitral adjustment REV. ARB. 315 (expressing doubts as to the situation in France): Peter Schlosser, Right (ll1d R.em-
et!r in Common law Arbitration and in Gennan Arbitration law, 4 ). INT. ARB. 27, at 30·32
of the contract. Otherwise, the sole alternative to a negotiated solution would be (1987) (concluding confidently that under German law parties have the Freedom to authorize ar-
the termination of the contract with a possible award of damages. Both parties bitrators to adapt contracts).
may agree at the time of negotiating the contract that they must find a way of en- The Resolutions oF the Working Group on Arbitration and Technology at the 6th International
suring better long-term stability for their association. ts Congress on Arbitration (Mexico City, 1978) included a paragraph 9 that called For "giving to the
arbitrators sufficient powers to fill all possible gaps" in order to be able to adjust to technological
National laws take different positions with respect to the limits of arbitrators· developments, IV Yf.ARBOOK XXV (1979).
capacity to adapt contracts.19 20 In one ICC case, the arbitrators reasoned as Follows:
"the price increase was susceptible oF objective determination on the basis oF available sta·
tistics and thus any possibility that it could have been fixed arbitrarily and artificially by
16 Suggested by MICHAEL MUSTIU. & SrEWART BOYD, CoMMERClAL ARBITRATION 74 (2d ed. 1989). one oF the parties, which might have rendered the contract illegal or at any rate unenforce-
able, was avoided ... The dispute could be submitted to an arbitral tribunal to fix the price
17 The reader will recognize this term as one oF the INCOTERMS developed by the ICC, see ICC publi- increase by reference to objective factors ... •
cation No. 460 ( 1990 edition oF the INCOTERMS).
ICC Case 4761/1987, ll ICCAWARDS 302, at 307. But Foran instance where ICCarbitratorsf¢sa:l
18 See general!>' WOLFGANG PETER, ARBITRATION AND RENEGOTIATION OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT to establish a new indexation clause to replace an industrial index which had ceased to be pub-
AGREEMENTS (2d ed. 1995).
lished. and this although they had the authority to decide as amiables compositeurs, see ICC Case
19 See Section 11(3) oF the various National Reports appearing in the ICCA HANDBOOK: thus, For ex- 3938/1982, I ICC AWARDS 503.
ample, V.V. Veeder writes with respect to England. VOL II, SUPPL 23 (March 1997), at 22: "no 21 ICC Case 5754/1988, unpublished, quoted in section 6.03. Contra, REDFERN & HUNTER at 182.

114 115
 §8.07 OCCASIONAllY USEFUL ELEMENTS OCCASIONALLY USEFUL ELEMENTS § 8.08

8.07 Powers and procedures for provisional relief approved by the ICC Court and submitted to recognition (exequatur) proceed-
Until their revision in 1998, the Rules did not explicitly acknowledge the au- ings, one may wish that one had found a way to make the stipulation self-ex-
thority of ICC arbitrators to order interim or conservatory measures. Under ecuting. by stipulating the consequences of non-compliance.23
the prior editions. it was therefore important in certain circumstances to Finally, although arbitrators lack powers of enforcement, and cannot grant
avoid doubt by making contractual provisions in this respect. attachments or hold parties in contempt, all of which powers are reserved for
Now Article 23( 1) entitles the arbitral tribunal. unless the parties have pro- national courts, the effectiveness of provisional orders issued by arbitrators
vided otherwise, to order "any interim or conservatory measure it deems ap- should not be underestimated. Parties do not ordinarily flout procedural or-
propriate." It also makes clear that such a measure may be conditional upon ders made by arbitrators under contractually granted powers. To do so would
the requesting party providing security, and that it may take the form of an be to risk incurring the disfavor of the tribunal and casting doubt on one·s
order or an award. own good faith.
The appearance of this new feature of the Rules makes it far less important 8.08 Procedural details
for drafters to complement arbitration clauses in this respect. Indeed, Article
In view of the fact that the ICC Rules say very little about the specifics of pro-
23(2) makes clear that a party may also seek judicially granted interim or
cedure, parties may wish to reach agreement on certain basic questions of
conservatory measures without thereby being deemed to infringe or waive
procedure. Otherwise. the arbitral tribunal will have very wide discretion un-
the agreement to arbitrate. This obviates yet another element of the prudent
der Article 15(1) of the Rules.24 Since the rules so established depend to great
drafter's kit of yesteryear.
extent on the legal training and habits of the chairman or sole arbitrator.
A leading Swiss arbitrator, noting that some countries' laws expressly reserve whose nationality may be unpredictable on the date of contracting, it may be
the judge's prerogatives of granting provisional relief even when the dispute useful to set forth some basic principles in the arbitration clause itself.
is subject to arbitration, has commented that:
In practice, however, such matters are usually dealt with in the Terms of Ref-
It is desirable that the arbitrator be able to exercise this power. which erence established after arbitral proceedings have been commenced. It often
will, for example, allow him to order continued performance irrespective appears easier to tailor rules to an existing litigation than to preconceive de-
of the litigation, or to the contrary, to authorize the taking over of the tailed rules to cover any possible future litigation.
work site by a new contractor or by the owner, to demand guarantees
One should always bear in mind that primacy is to be given to the will of the
from one party or the other. and the like. 22
parties. If the parties are agreed that a given procedural issue should be re-
There have been occasional instances in ICC arbitrations, particularly in large solved in a particular way, the arbitrators should accede to their wishes in all
projects for the construction and start-up of industrial plants, where experi- but the most exceptional situation (such as a request for a procedural step
enced and confident arbitrators have ordered parties to make provisional contrary to fundamental principles. or involving the arbitrators in vast efforts
payments into an escrow account, thereby allowing expenditures to be made they could not have anticipated when accepting their mandate).
occasionally under the control of an expert appointed by the tribunal-to
maintain the project at least in suspended animation (if not in progress)
pending resolution of the dispute. In appropriate circumstances, an explicit
contractual stipulation may be useful, tailor- made to the likely requirements
of the works or transactions contemplated, so as to avoid controversy as to 23 Going somewhat further than Article 23 of the Rules. THE fRESHFIELDS GUIDE TO ARBITRATION AND
the concrete application of Article 23. ADR CU.USES IN INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS 88 (2d. edition 1999) suggests the following contrac-
tual provision:
Naturally, one should not lose sight of the limited nature of the arbitrators' Without prejudire to such provisional remedies in aid of arbitration as may be available un-
sanction in this regard. If a party refuses to obey the provisional order, com- der the jurisdiction of a competent court. the arbitral tribunal shall have full authorily to
grant provisional remedies and to award damagesJor theJailure efa party to respect the ar-
pliance must be secured by enlisting the assistance of ordinary courts. If this bitral tribunal's orders to that effect. (Emphasis added.)
may be done only by having the provisional order take the form of an award 24 Arbitrators· exercise of this discretion is generally accepted by national courts asked to rule on
challenges to awards. See. e.g., Laminoirs Trefileries-cableries de Lens S.A.. v. Southwire Co ..
484 f. Supp. 1063 (1980): summarized in VI YE.\RBOOK 247 (1981). where ICC arbitrators· re-
fusal to allow cross-examination of an adverse witness on the grounds of irrelevance was held
22 Claude Reymond, Problemes actuels de /'arbitrage commercial international, 1982 REVUE to be within the scope of their authorily and did not constitute a ground for the U.S. party to re-
tCONOMIQUE ET SOCIALE 5. sist execution of the award.

116 117
 §28.02 NATIONAL CONSTRAJNTs ON ICC ARBllMTION NATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON ICC ARBITRATION § 28.03

statute, the Sherman Act, despite the contract's explicit choice of Swiss gov- Later, after a claim has been filed, national arbitration law may become rele-
erning law.2 Moreover, the Court warned that an American judge asked to en- vant if judicial proceedings are instituted to compel arbitration, to attach as-
force any award resulting from the arbitration might have a second look at sets, to stay competing judicial proceedings, to remove biased arbitrators. or
the process to insure that the United States' antitrust law had in fact been to obtain the production of evidence. Subsequent to the arbitration. courts
taken into account. 3 may be asked to vacate, confirm or enforce an award on grounds as diverse
Not only does national arbitration law affect ICC arbitration, but the ICC Rules (depending on the country) as a denial of due process. an excess of jurisdic-
in cum affect the application of national law. Many nations permit annul- tion or even a mistake on a point of law.
ment or non-recognition of an award because the parties' agreement (which The following five matters are among those aspects of national arbitration
includes the ICC Rules4) was not followed with respect to the arbitral proce- law which most frequently affect ICC arbitration.
dures or the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. 6
(i) The Validity qfthe Arbitration Agreement. Like the New York Arbitration
Sometimes the mandates of national arbitration law run parallel to the ICC convention, the laws at most major arbitral centers require arbitration
Rules. For example, Article 15(2) of the Rules provides that the arbitral tribu- agreements to be in writing, but may differ on how prominent the "writing"
nal shall in all cases "act fairly and impartially and ensure that each party must be (first page in capitals? just above the signature?), whether it may be
has a reasonable opportunity to present its case." This fundamental principle incorporated into a contract by reference to the rules of a trade association,
of ICC arbitration echoes analogous notions of due process and equal treat- or whether by its conduct a party may be deemed to have accepted a docu-
ment contained in national law.7 ment containing an arbitration provision.
28.02 Matters Affected by National Arbitration Law Su!zject Matter Arbitrability. Some countries require that disputes relat-
(ii)
ing to public law matters (competition, patents, securities, discrimination)
Familiarity with national arbitration law commends itself both before and af-
must be submitted to courts rather than arbitrators.
ter a dispute has arisen. At the time the arbitration clause is drafted, lawyers
should try to select an arbitral venue where the judiciary monitors an arbitra- (iii) Preconditions to Arbitration. In some jurisdictions, only courts are em-
tion's fundamental procedural fairness. but does not review the merits of the powered to determine whether arbitration claims have been filed within rel-
arbitrator's conclusions of fact or law. The venue should also be in a country evant express or implied time limits.
that adheres to the 1958 New York Arbitration Convention. which many na- (iv) Interim Measures. To support arbitration, courts sometimes compel tes-
tions apply only on the basis of reciprocity, to awards rendered in the territory timony. secure the attendance of witnesses, preserve evidence, arrange for
of another contracting state. sale of perishable goods, or remove non-performing arbitrators. In addition,
courts of competent jurisdiction may deal directly with urgent matters such
as the enforcement of confidentiality obligations or security agreements
that have been excluded from the agreement to arbitrate, or are covered by
2 See footnote 19 of Mitsubishi v. Soler, 473 U.S. 614 (1985).Seegeneral{y, William W. Park.Pri- Article 23(2) of the ICC Rules.
vate A4judicators and the Public Interest, 12 BROOK. J. INT. L 629 (1986).
(V) Review efAwards. Courts at the arbitral seat generally may set aside an
3 The Court's problematic ·second look" doctrine is discussed at 473 U.S. 614 (1985), pages
637-38. award if the proceedings are not fair or if the arbitrators exceed their mis-
sion. In some countries courts may also hear appeals on issues of law.
4 For example. arbitrator independence would be incorporated into an arbitration clause by refer-
ence to the ICC Rules (see Article 7). regardless of whether the arbitral situs prohibits or allows
arbitrator links with one of the parties. 28.03 The Arbitral Situs
5 See UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law, Article 34(2)(a)(iv) and Artide V(t)(d) of the New York (a) The "Law of the Arbitration."
Convention. See also 1996 English Arbitration Act. § 68(2J(C), defining serious irregularity for
which an award may be challenged to include "failure by the tribunal to conduct the proceedings The arbitral situs-also called the arbitral "seat" or the place of arbitra-
in accordance with the procedure agreed by the parties." tion-will be designated either in the arbitration agreement or by the ICC
6 See French NCPC Article 1502(2). which permits annulment of an award if the arbitral tribunal Court Although the arbitral seat serves as the focal point for the proceedings,
was improperly constituted (irregulierement rompost!'], and cases discussed in Matthieu de
Boisseson. LE DRO!T FRAN(:1/S DEL 'ARBITRAGE (1990), at paragraph 795 (pages 833-34).
7 See e.g.. 1996 English Arbitration AC!.§ 68, French NCPC Article 1502(4), Swiss L.D.l.P. Article
t 90(2)(d), U.S. Federal Arbitration Act, § IO(a)(3) and UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law. Article
34(a)(ii).

496 497
§ 28.06 NATIONAL CONSTIWNTS ON ICC ARBITRATION NATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON ICC ARBITRATION §28.06

In the United States courts have generally refrained from exercising jurisdic- How much the overhaul of a national legal regime will in fact increase the
tion over an arbitration based solely on a choice-of-law clause.66 Courts of adopting country's selection as situs for ICC arbitration remains debatable.
other nations, however, have occasionally taken a different view, and as- When, how and why legislative reform makes a country more desirable as an
serted power to annul awards made outside their borders, based only on a arbitral situs will depend not only on the stage of development of prior law,
choice-of-law clause in the principal contract.67 but also on the impact of non-legal influences. Geography and history often
matter more to the choice of an arbitral situs than the efficiency of the legal
In this connection. one must remember that the New York Arbitration Con-
vention, for better or for worse, allows non-recognition of awards set aside by environment, and may even trump the impact of a marginally less favorable
statute, assuming consensus on what exactly constitutes a juridical environ-
"a competent authority of the country in which. or under the law if which,
ment favorable to arbitration.
that award was made. ·68 Thus it is theoretically possible for an annulment in
a country other than the arbitral situs to serve as a defense to award recogni- More than one country has been a popular situs for international arbitration
tion under the Convention. This does not mean. however. that the exercise of notwithstanding a legal regime which. at the relevant times. was generally
jurisdiction by that other country is sound policy. considered as hostile to the business community's expectation of arbitrator
autonomy. England attracted international arbitration (although not as
28.06 Keeping National Law in Perspective much as some lawyers desired). even before the 1979 and 1996 reforms
The torrent of arbitration law reform d:.tring the past two decades69 has often which made the legal framework for international arbitration more user
been fueled by expectations of "invisible exports.· a euphemism for fees to ar- friendly. Switzerland's popularity as an arbitral situs developed at a time
bitrators, lawyers and expert witnesses. 70 when merits review of "arbitrary" awards prevailed under the lntercantonal
Concordat. 71 Both nations gained favor as places to arbitrate due less to their
national law than to factors such as England's central role in modern com-
66 See International Standard Electric Corporation (!SEQ v. Bridas Sociedad Anonima Petrolera, In· mercial and financial matters, and the Swiss reputation for neutrality and ef-
dustrial y Comercial. 745 F. supp. I 72 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). When an award was rendered in Mexico ficiency. The impetus for the reform in these jurisdictions came largely from
pursuant to a contract subject to New York substantive law. the loser sought to have it set aside lawyers and arbitrators who had already tasted the fruits of successful prac-
in New York. The federal district court concluded that only Mexican courts had the power to va- tice. and were anxious to keep business from going elsewhere. 72
cate an award made in Mexico.
67 Sec Oil & Natural Gas Commission v. Western Company of North America. I987 All India Re· The role of historical accident does not mean that the quality of arbitration
ports SC 674. excerpted in 13 YEARBOOK 473 (1988); National Thermal Power Corporation v. law does not matter. however. Particularly at the margins of venue selection,
Singer Corporation, Supreme Court of India, 18 YEARBOOK 403 (1993). Compare Renusager a reputation for a good or bad arbitration law will often cause a migration
Power Co. Ltd. v. General Electric Co. (I 993). discussed in Tony Khindria. Eefon-ementifAroitra-
tion Awards in India, 23 INT. Bus. U.WYER 1I (January 1995). See general{y Jan Paulsson, The among otherwise plausible locations. Boston will not soon replace London or
New Yor* Convention's Misadventures in India, 7 MEALEYS INT. ARB. REP. at 3-8 (June 1992); J. Paris as a center for international commercial arbitration, no matter how fine
Gillis Wetter & Chari Priem, The 1993 General Electric Case: The Supreme Court '!{India's Re-4/- an arbitration statute the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopts. However,
finn Pro-Eeforcement Polit;y Under the New York Convention, 8 INT. ARB. REP. (December 1993);
F.S. Nariman, Finality in India: The Impossible Dream, 10 ARB. INT. 373 (1994); Lawrence Ebb, costly judicial meddling in arbitration by English courts might well result in
India Responds to the Critics '!fits Misadventures under the New Yor.t Convention: The 1996 Ar· some arbitrations moving over the Channel to Paris or Geneva.
bitration Ordinance, I I MEALEY'S INT. ARB. REP. 17 (1997).
68 New York Convention Artide V(l)(e).
69 The chronicle of new arbitration statutes includes inter alia legislation in England (1979 and
1996). France (1981), Belgium (1985 and 1997), the Netherlands (I 986). Portugal (1986). Swit-
zerland (1987). Spain (1988), HongKong(I990, I996and 1997), ltaly(t994), Germany (1997),
as well as the UNCITRAL Model Law (1985) and its progeny. See general{y Adam Samuel, Arbi·
tration in Western Europe: A Generation '!f Refonn, 7 ARB. INT. 319 (1991).
adoption of the Model Law.
70 In connection with the I996 English Arbitration Act, the Departmenial Advisory Committee on
Arbitration advised that "The fact is that this country has been very slow to modernize its arbi· 71 Awards maybe annulled if considered as "arbitrary" due to "violation oflaw or equity". See Arti-
tration law and this has done us no good in our endeavor to retain our pre-eminence in the field cle 36(!) of Concordat /nterr:antonal sur !'Arbitrage, which governed international arbitration in
of international arbitration, a service which brings this country very substantial amounts in- most Swiss cantons before the LoiJederale de droit international prive took effect in I989. Since
deed." 1996 Department of Trade and Industry, Departmental Advisory Report, paragraph 335, 1989 the Concordat will apply only if the parties so elect in writing. See WIP Article 176.
at 69. See also discussion of the movement to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law in the 72 For the selection of England and Switzerland as locations for arbitration, see statistics on Eng-
United States in Alan Scott Rau, The UNCITRAL Model Law and Federal Courts: The Case '!f land and Switzerland as seats of arbitration in Appendix I of the first (1984) and second (1990)
Waiver. 6 AM. REV. INT. ARB. 223 (1995), in which Professor Rau refers to the "bizarre chapter of editions of w. U.URENCE CRAIG, Wll.UMI w. PARK & JAN PAULSSON, INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER Of
wishful thinking• that a state can attract international arbitration business simply through CoMMERCE ARBITRATION.

510 511
§ 28.07 NATIONAL CONSTRAll'ITS ON ICC ARBITRATION NATIONAL CONSTRAll'ITS ON ICC ARBITRATION §28.07

28.07 Courts and Arbitral Jurisdiction 73 tion about their power would be subject to judicial review at any time, 76
While the parties to ICC arbitration expect the arbitrators to be the sole judges whethe~ after an award is rendered 77 or when a motion is made to stay court
proceedings or to compel arbitration.78
of the merits of the dispute, the same cannot necessarily be said about the
limits of their own power. The interaction of national law and ICC arbitration On this matter it is important not to confuse the allocation of functions be-
implicates an allocation of functions between arbitrators and courts which tween arb!trators and the. ICC Court with the allocation of responsibility be-
can be both elusive and complex with respect to the when, how and by whom tween arbitrators and nat10nal courts. Under Article 6 of the ICC Rules, if the
an arbitrator·s jurisdiction will be determined. ~cc. ~ur.t is "primaJacie satisfied" that an arbitration agreement exists, any
1unsd1Ct10nal challenge of a deeper nature goes to the arbitrators. This does
Imagine for example that a claim is made on the basis of an arbitration clause
~ot ~~an, however: th~t national courts will be deprived of power to make ju-
which the defendant says is invalid. Should the defendant be able to go to nsdict10nal determmat10ns when asked to stay litigation, enjoin arbitration
court at the outset of the proceedings to contest the arbitrators' jurisdiction? or vacate an award. 79
Or must the defendant wait until an award is rendered, and then move to
have that award set aside? If an award has already been issued, what (if any) (ii) Courts Consider Jurisdiction Only After Award.
deference should a reviewing court show to the arbitrator's finding? If the ar- ~rench l~w goes further, however, and delays court review ofarbitral jurisdic-
bitrator has found the principal contract invalid, will this necessarily entail uon unt!l efter an award is rendered. If an arbitral tribunal has already begun
invalidity of the arbitration clause? As discussed below, such questions are to hear a matter, courts must decline to hear the case. When an arbitral tribu-
usually analyzed according to two oft-confused notions: competence- nal has not yet been constituted, court litigation will go forward only if the al-
competence and separability. leged arbitration agreement is clearly void (manjfestement nulle).80
(a) Competence-Competence. To some extent, what is at issue here is the timing of judicial review. Going to
~ourt at the. b~ginning of the proceedings can save expense for a defendant
The concept referred to as competence-competence (literally "jurisdiction con-
improperly iomed to the arbitration. On the other hand, judicial resources
cerning jurisdiction") links together a constellation of disparate notions
about when arbitrators can rule on the limits of their own power. 74 De-
pending on the context, reference to an arbitrator's "jurisdiction to decide ju-
76 The.sa.me English ~itration :I.a that in§ 30 provides for arbitracors to determine their own ju-
risdiction" has operated with three quite distinct practical consequences: (1) nsd1ct1on as a prehmmary matter also permits judicial challenge of any jurisdictional determina-
the arbitrators need not stop the arbitration when one party objects to their tion (:I.ct§ 67) and provides for stay oflitigation only if the court is satisfied that the arbitration
jurisdiction; (2) courts delay consideration of arbitral jurisdiction until an agreement is not "null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed" (:\a§ 9).
award is made; (3) arbitracors decide questions of their own jurisdiction bind- 77 Seee.g Swiss Tribunalflderal, 17 August 1995, Vekoma v. Maran Coal Company, 14 SWISS BULL
ingly, with no judicial review. 673. ( l 996) with ~mmentary by Philippe Schweizer. ICC award rendered in Geneva, arising out
of dispute over delivery of coke: courts in Switzerland will examine the arbitrators' jurisdicrional
determinations de novo.
(i) No Need to Stop the Arbitration.
78 See e.g. Three Valley Muni<;ipal Water Districr v. E.F. Hutton, 925 F. 2d 1136 (9th Cir. 1991)
In its simplest formulation, competence-competence means no more than that (held for the court co determine whether contra as were void because of signa!Ory's lack of power
arbitrators can look into their own jurisdiction without waiting for a court to t? bind. princirals) and Engalla v. ~rmanente Med. Group, 938 P.2d 903 (Cal. t 997) (malprac-
do so. In other words, when one side says the arbitration clause is invalid, tice claim against a health care provider referred to ad hoc arbitration which left administration
there is no need to halt proceedings and refer the question to a judge. 75 How- to the parties rather than an independent institution: Supreme Court of California found that the
ha~itual .delays i_n the process constituted evidence of fraud by health care provider). See also
ever, under this brand of competence-competence the arbitrators' determina- Sw_1ss.Tribuna!Jederal, 16 Jan. 1995, Compagnie de Navigation et Transports v. Mediterranean
Sh1pp1~g ~mpany, ATF 121 II 38, where the court called for a full examination of the scope of
the arb1trauon clause before stay of judicial proceedings in favor of an arbitration outside of
Switzerland, while admitting that in a domestic arbitration the court might be limited !O a
"primaJacie review" of the arbitration agreement's validity.
73 See genera/fy, William W. Park, Determining Arbitral Jurisdiction, 8 AM. REV. INT'L ARB. 133 79 But see ~polio v. Berg, 886 F. 2d 469 (!st Cir. 1989). where the court relied in part on what was
(1997). then Article 8 of the ICC Rules (now :\rtide 6(2)) to limit the court's own review function. After
74 See generalfy, Carlos J\lfaro & Flavia Guimarey, Who Should Detennine Arbitrability?, 12 ARB. the defendant had questioned whether the arbitration clause remained valid after contract as-
INT. 415 ( 1996): William W. Park, The Arbitrability Dicta in First Options v. Kaplan: What Sort ef signment, the federal court turned over to the arbitrators the question of the arbitration clause's
Kompetenz-Kompetenz Has Crossed the Ac/antic?, 12 ARB. INT. 13 7 (1996). validity. The decision has been questioned. See William W. Park, The Arbitrability Dicta in First
75 See e.g., Christopher Brown Ltd v. Genossenschaft Oesterreifchischer Waldbesitzer, [1954] I Options v. Kaplan 12 ARB. INT. 137 (1996) at 147-48.
Q.B. 8.; 1996 English Arbitration :I.ct§ 30. 80 See Article 1458 of the Nouveau code de procidure civile, discussed in Chapter 31.

512 513
§ 16.06 RULES GOVERNING THE PROCEEDINGS

One thing is certain: almost all authorities recognize the principle of arbitra-
tors' duty of confidentiality, and accept the arbitrators' corresponding right
not to be questioned as to the content of the award or the deliberation and
reason that led to it. Yet even this generally recognized principle can some-
times give rise to difficulties of application.48
CHAPTER 17

CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW

17.01 Freedom of arbitrators to apply "appropriate" rules of law

i) Liberalization of choice of law process by the 1998 Rules
It is advisable to choose the applicable law in the principal agreement. Most
systems oflaw give parties wide latitude to select the proper law of their con-
tract. The various elements that should go into the exercise of their choice
have been described in Section 7.04. When the parties fail to make an express
choice, the arbitrators must deal with the issue. Article t 7 of the Rules, as re-
vised in 1998, gives the arbitrators wide discretion since they are permitted to
choose the applicable law without reference to a particular system of choice
oflaw; in addition they are allowed to apply Mrules oflaw" as contrasted with
a specific national law.
Article 17 of the ICC Rules provides, in part, that:
(1) The parties shall be free to agree upon the rules of law to be applied by
the arbitral tribunal to the merits of the dispute. In the absence of any such
48 In a Swedish case the U.S. counsel of one of the parties disclosed the text of an interim award on
jurisdiction to Mealey's International Arbitration Report where it was published. After publica- agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall apply the rules of law which it deter-
tion the Chairman of the arbitral tribunal disclosed the award to a member of the Supreme Court mines to be appropriate.
of Sweden because the Supreme Court was considering in another matter the same point oflaw.
The offended party sought to overturn the award and disqualify the arbitrator. In a surprising (2) In all cases, the arbitral tribunal shall take account of the provisions of
decision the Stockholm City Court found that the party's breach of confidentiality entailed the the contract and the relevant trade usage.
nullification of the award. The Court of Appeal reversed the City Court's decision (Bulgarian For-
eign Trade Bank, Ltd. v. A.I. Trade Finance, inc., caseT 1092-98, JudgementofJO March 1999, The modification of the Rules confirms the liberal power of the parties to de-
I 4 MEhl.EY"S l!'.T. ARB. REP. A-1 (No. 4, April 1999} finding that there was no statutol)' obliga- termine the legal standards governing their obligations. While most contracts
tions of confidentiality for arbitration in Swedish law and while secrecy was an important attrib- provide for the application of a single national law, parties sometimes choose
ute of arbitration, one could not say that there was an absolute and binding implied obligation
of confidentiality. in the case it found that in any event any breach by the party revealing the independent rules of law such as the Vienna Sales Convention, or the
award could be sanctioned by damages and that the invalidating of the arbitration award was UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, or Mthe rules of
not justified. it further found that the Chairman of the arbitral tribunal, who had revealed the law governing contractual obligations common to England and France".
award to a member of the Supreme Court purely for intellectual legal reasons, could not be dis-
qualified (a point that was not ruled on by the court below). The Court of Appeal's decision Parties may also choose to apply Mgeneral principles of international law" or
seems to fall into the main line of confidentiality cases before national courts. However, the similar formulations (such as the principles of lex mercatoria), although it
Swedish Supreme Court, which granted leave to appeal. will still have the last wont. See Hans should be recognized that such formulations seldom supply sufficiently de-
Bagner, Confidentiality in International Commercial Arbitration Practice to be Considered by the fined standards to resolve all the legal issues which may arise. The revised
Swedish Supreme Court, 14 2MEALErs INT. ARB. REP. 9 (No. 9, September 1999).

318 319
§ 17.01 OIDICE OF SUBSTANTIVE I.AW OfOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE I.AW § 17.01

Rules confirm that when parties act in this way arbitrators should accept Prior to 1975, the ICC Rules contained no specific provisions on the choice of
their decision. law or the arbitrators' powers to establish applicable law if the contract failed
When the parties have not made any determination, Article 17(1) gives to to stipulate it. In the absence of choice of law criteria in the Rules, ICC arbitra-
the arbitral tribunal the power to apply "rules oflaw", thus a broader power tors tended to apply the conflict of laws rules of the law of the place of arbitra-
than that granted by Article 13(3) of the 1975 Rules which implied a re- tion. The seat of arbitration was thus viewed as analogous to a judicial
quirement to choose a single national law as the "proper law" of the con- forum; the assumption followed that it was naturally the law of the place of
tract designated by a rule of conflicts of law. This requirement was at odds arbitration, lexfari, which governed choice of law questions. This concept
with arbitral practices. had been adopted in a 195 7 resolution of the Institute of International Law,
which declared: "The rule of choice of law in the seat of the arbitral tribunal
Even if in most cases where the parties have not designated the applicable must be followed to settle the law applicable to the substance of the differ-
rules of law it may be expected that the arbitral tribunal will choose a single ence. •3 Its application would usually result in giving the national law of the
national law as governing the obligations of the parties. Article 17(1) gives forum a general vocation in respect to arbitrations, not limited to procedural
the arbitral tribunal a wider freedom in these circumstances than it theoreti- issues. By 1961, when the European Convention on International Arbitration
cally enjoyed under the prior Rules. The arbitral tribunal is free to apply di- was adopted, this concept had gone to an early grave.4
rectly the law which it deems appropriate without any necessity to
investigate any "rule of conflict", whether of a national law or otherwise, in Article 13(3) of the 1975 ICC Rules, inspired by the European Convention, was
making that determination. This empowerment to use the "voie directe" in aimed at liberating the choice of substantive law from national rules of con-
choice of law also coincides with the tendencies of recent arbitral practice. flict of laws. just as Article 11 liberated arbitrators from necessarily following
national laws of procedure. One of the reasons for this liberalization was that
The freedom of the arbitral tribunal, like that of the parties, to apply rules of if the seat of arbitration was picked by the ICC court in the absence of agree-
law other than those of a single state provides a flexibility to meet the inten- ment by the parties, such forum might have no connection with the parties or
tions of the parties and to respond to all the circumstances of a case. with the dispute. Worse, application ofits conflict oflaws system might result
ii) Background of choice of law process in ICC arbitration in application of a law unintended by either party. In a comment on the 1955
The choice of law process in international arbitration has attracted much Rules,5 Professor E. J. Cohn used the example ofa dispute between a German
scholarly writing. I The complexity of the process is such that in some cases firm and an English firm arising under a contract in which the parties chose
an interim award may be required on the issue, preceded by full written and neither the proper law of the contract nor the place of arbitration. If the Court
oral submissions. Such a process entails substantial additional expenses and of Arbitration had picked a city in a Swiss canton as the seat, Swiss choice of
delays, which could have been avoided had a law been designated in the prin- law rules would have designated German law as the proper law of the con-
cipal agreement.2 tract. However, under both German and English private international law,
English law would have governed the contract. Professor Cohn, although de-
voted to the application of the procedural and choice oflaw rules of the seat,
suggested that in such a situation the arbitrators should as an exceptional
See fOUCHARD GAl!ll.RD AND GoLDMAN ON INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARl!n'RATION. PART V
(Kluwer 1999); Berda Wortmann. Choice ef Law o/ Arbitrators: The Applicable Conflicts eflaw
Syst£m. 14 ARB. INT. 97 (1998); M. Blessing, Choice ifSubstantive Law in Arbitration, 14 J.1NT1. 3 1957 ANNUAIRE DE L'INSTITUT DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL 469.
ARB. 339 ( 1997); Yves Derains, The ICC Arbitral Process. Part VIII: Choice eflaw Applicable to the 4 Article VII(!) of the European Convention. 21 April 1961, UNTS vol. 464, p.364, No. 7041
Contraccand International Arbitration, 6 ICCBuLL 10(May1995); A.F.M. Maniruzzaman,Con- (1963-64), gives arbitrators the freedom to choose any conflict of laws rules it deems appropri-
jlict eflaws in International Arbitration: Practice and Trends, 9 ARB. INT. 371 (1993); Horacio ate. (see generally Section 37.03). The same approach is taken by Article 28(2) of the UNCITRAL
Grigera Na6n, (Secretary General of the ICC Court of Arbitration 1997-_J. CHOICE OF L\w PROB- Model Law(" ... the arbitral tribunal shall apply the law determined by the conflict oflaws rules
LEMS IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION. Q.C.B. Mohr 1992); 0. Lando, The law Applicable to the which it considers applicable.1 Article 46(3) of the English Arbitration Act 1996 is to the same
Merits efthe Dispute, 2 ARB. INT. 104 ( 1988); Julian Lew, APPUCAllLE L\w IN INTERNATIONAL ARBI· effect Other laws (French. Dutch) do not require the arbitrators to apply any confliets rule at all.
TRATION (1978). Note that while conventions and arbitration laws of various countries may provide indications
2 Parties sometimes argue that it is indispensable for the arbitrators to render an interim award on of choice oflaw rules to be applied by arbitrators, they are not mandatory. They all permit the
applicable law, because they would otherwise be unduly burdened by having to present their parties to choose the rules of law applicable to their dispute either directly or indirectly by the
case on the merits without being able to marshall their arguments in a coherent manner under adoption of institutional arbitration rules. By choosing the ICC Rules, the parties have made an
the law which will ultimately govern the case. For an example of the arbitrators' rejection of indirect choice oflaw.
such an argument (in a case where the parties ·one after the other, but rather sporadically." in- 5 E.J. Cohn, The Rules efArbitration if the International Chamber efCommerce, 14 INTERNATIONAL
voked French and Tunisian law), see ICC Case 5103/1988, 1988 JOI 1207. AND COMPARATIVE L\W QuARTERLY 132, 162 (1965).

320 321
§ 17.01 CHOICE OF SUBSTANllVE !AW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE !AW § 17.02

matter be free to apply the choice of law rules common to the national conflict the organization itself which supervises the arbitration, in this instance
of laws systems of both parties. the International Chamber of Commerce. s
The modem trend is to recognize that any perceived obligation to apply the The ICC Rules now recognize that it is undesirable to assimilate the arbitrator
choice oflaw rules of the seat stems from a false comparison of the seat of an to a national judge in respect to choice of law rules. Article 17(1) of the Rules
arbitral tribunal with a judicial forum. A national court judge must apply the accordingly gives arbitrators freedom not only to apply choice of law rules
conflicts rules of the forum. He applies his own national law to determine the other than those which would be applied by national courts at the seat of the
proper choice of law rules. These are the rules of the state upon which his arbitration but also to choose an applicable substantive law without the ne-
powers depend, and may express the state's policies as to the correct determi- cessity of passing through the rules of a national choice of law system; they
nation of the extent of legislative jurisdiction of other states. The interna- are also enabled to apply directly "rules of law". This last disposition opens
tional arbitrator's powers, on the other hand, are derived from an arbitration the issue of whether ICC arbitrators may rule on a contractual dispute without
agreement, and an arbitrator does not exercise public or institutional powers regard to any national substantive law whatsoever. This topic will be dis-
in the name of the state. As Pierre Lalive has written: cussed in Section 17.03 with respect to the concept of applying trade usages
and lex mercatoria.
The arbitrator exercises a private mission, conferred contractually. and it
is only by a rather artificial interpretation that one can say that his pow- 17 .02 Choice of law criteria most frequently used in ICC arbitration
ers arise from-and even then very ii1directly-a tolerance of the state of
the place of arbitration, or rather of the various states involved (states of If the parties have not chosen the substantive law applicable to the contract,
the parties. of the siege, of the probable places of execution of the the arbitrators will generally determine the national law or laws pursuant to
award), which accept the institution of arbitration, or of the community which the agreement should be interpreted and its performance weighed.
of nations, notably those which have ratified international treaties in This subject was introduced in Section 8.04.
the matter. Would it not be to force the international arbitrator into a A review ofICC arbitration practice reveals that the following methods are most
kind of Procrustean bed6 if he were assimilated to a state judge, who is frequently used by arbitrators to determine the proper law of the contract: (i)
imperatively bound to the system of private international law of the application of the choice oflaw systems in force at the seat; (ii) cumulative ap-
country where he sits and from which he derives his power of decision? 7 plication of the choice of law system of the countries having a relation with the .
Even before the adoption of the most recent ICC rules, ICC arbitrators had dispute; (iii) application of general principles of conflict of laws; and (iv) appli-
taken the position that an arbitrator should not be compared to a state court cation of a rule of conflict chosen directly by the arbitrator.9
judge in the choice of law process since arbitrators have no obligation to ap- To these have been added the liberalizing effect of Article 17(1) of the 1998
ply the law of the seat as an assimilated lexJon·. For example, an ICC arbitral Rules which permit the arbitral tribunal to apply directly "the rules of law
award of 1970 held: which it determines to be appropriate" without reference to any system of
The rules determining the applicable law vary from one country to the conflicts.
next. State judges derive them from their own national legislation. the i) Choice of law system in force at the seat
lexfan·. But an arbitral tribunal has no lexJori in the strict sense of the
word, particularly when the arbitration case is of an international nature Since 1975 the ICC Rules have not required arbitrators to follow the choice ef
by virtue of the object of the dispute, the choice of the arbitrators, and law rules efthe seat efarbitration. However, even the most liberalized 1998
Rules do not prevent an arbitrator from using these rules if the arbitrator

8 ICC case 1689/1970, reponed by Yves Derains in 1972 REv. ARB. 104: see also ICC case
1512/1971, extracts in I YEARBOOK 128 (1976); extracts in French translation in 1974 JOI 904,
where the sole arbitrator (P. I.alive) declared: "The international arbitrator does not dispose or
any lafarifrom which he could borrow rules or conflicts orlaws. •
6 Readers will recall the myth or Procrustes, who seized unsuspecting travellers and made them fit 9 The following methods have occasionally been suggested, but by and large have been dismissed
his bed, cutting off their legs ff they were long, stretching them if they were too short See )an by ICC arbitrators: application or the confticts orlaws rules of the counuy or which the arbitrator
Paulsson,Arbitration Unbound, 30 INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE u.w QuARTERLY 358, at 362 is a national; application or the rules of the counuy whose courts would have had jurisdiction
(1981). had there not been an agreement to arbitrate; and application or the rules of the country where
7 Pierre I.alive, Les reg/es de cor!flits de leis appliquees auJond du litige par /'arbitre international the award would likely be executed. The difficulties of applying these methods to international
siegeanten Suisse. 1976 REv. ARB. 155, at 159. as opposed to domestic arbitrations are reviewed in I.alive, supra note 7, at 160-164.

322 323
§ 17.02 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW § 17.02

finds them appropriate for the particular dispute at hand. There may, how- Pennsylvania law. the domicile of Westinghouse. the negotiating history
ever, be no significant relationship between the seat and the parties or the showed that the parties had been unable to agree on the law to govern valid-
dispute; this is frequently the case where the Court of Arbitration fixes the ity. performance and breach. Exercising its power under Article 13(3) [Arti-
place of arbitration. As a general proposition in such cases. there is less rea- cle 17 of the 1998 Rules] to determine the applicable law by selecting and
son for applying the conflict of laws system at the seat of the arbitration than applying the rules of conflict it deemed appropriate, the tribunal applied the
there is for applying its procedural rules (see Chapter 16). On the other hand. provision of the Swiss Private International Law Act (SPILA] relative to arbi-
an arbitrator may find it appropriate to apply the choice of law rules of the tration stating:
venue if the arbitration agreement specifically stipulates the place of arbitra- The arbitral tribunal shall decide the dispute according to the rules of
tion. particularly if there are other indices that this choice reflects a desire to law chosen by the parties or. in the absence of such choice. according to
implicate the legal order of that country. the rules of law with which the case has the closest connection.
The case for applying the conflicts rules of the seat of arbitration depends on The tribunal noted that this provision relating to the conduct of the arbitra-
the analogy of the seat to a judicial forum. In its most exaggerated form. such tion did not itself provide all the elements necessary to determine the choice
an analogy would lead to the direct application of the law of the seat as the of law, notably how to determine the jurisdiction with which the case had the
proper law of the contract on the theory that a choice of forum implies a closest connection. 13 It accordingly turned to the general conflicts provisions
choice of its substantive law to govern the contract. A few ICC arbitral tribu- of the SPILA which, while not mandatory with respect to international arbi-
nals. in what appear today to be outdated cases. have taken this position.10 tration. clarified how the "closest connection" should be determined.
In recent years. the substantive law of the place of arbitration has been ap-
plied in a few isolated cases. Such cases have been conditioned on the ab- Article 11 7 of the SPILA provides that a contract is governed by the law of the
sence of preponderant connecting factors with another country, with the state with which it is most closely connected which in turn is determined by
arbitrators concluding that in choosing the place of arbitration the parties the habitual residence of the party providing the "characteristic perfor-
manifested their lack of objection to application of the laws of that place as mance." In a construction contract the characteristic performance is clearly
the proper law. particularly if local arbitrators were also chosen. 11 that of the supplier/builder. Application of these principles led to the applica-
tion for the issues of validity and performance of the contract of the same
The adoption of the conflict rules of the seat (and not directly its material law) Pennsylvanian law (habitual domicile of Westinghouse) as had been agreed
is an attenuated form of the same approach. by the parties for its construction and interpretation.
An example of the recent application of the conflict rules of the seat of arbi- There are numerous ICC cases applying the private international law rules of
tration was supplied by Westinghouse v. Republic efPhilippinesl2 ICC arbi- the place ofarbitration.14 Some of the earlier examples of this choice were in-
tration chaired by a prominent Swiss arbitrator, Professor Claude Reymond. fluenced by the linkage between the arbitration and the law of procedure at
At issue was what law governed the performance and breach of a contract the place of arbitration under the 1955 Rules. IS Others opted for local rules of
calling for the construction. equipment and supply of a nuclear power plant conflict to avoid appearing to have an arbitrary preference; 16 they often did
to the Philippines on a turnkey basis. While the parties had agreed that the
construction and interpretation of the agreement was to be governed by
13 The tribunal did not explore the idea that by having chosen the ICC Rules the panies had empow-
ered the arbitrator (under the pre-1998 Rules) to choose the applicable law according to "the rule
of conflict he deems appropriate" which theoretically might indicate a proper law or rules oflaw
10 Those cases have taken as a staning point the maxim qui elegit iudicem elegit ius (who dtooses other than those with which the case has the closest connection, a rather theoretical exercise in
the judge chooses the law) and have transferred it to the arbitral situation (qui elegit arbitrom any event
elegit ius). Such a presumption has been applied with some regularity and logic where panies
have chosen a national arbitral association encompassing a set of legal values, as in Eastern 14 See Lew, supra note I, at 201-202, 239-240, and 255-272.
bloc arbitration associations. See Lew.supra Note I, at 192. Lew also cites examples of some ICC 15 The 1955 Rules provided that where rules governing the proceeding were not supplied by the
awards in the 1950s in whidt Swiss arbitrators took a similar position. Id. at 192. A more recent Rules or a law of procedure chosen by the parties then the rules would be provided "by the law of
example is found in ICC Case 2735/1976; extracts in 1977 JOI 947 (sales contracts between U.S. the countiy in which the arbitrator holds the proceeding". While no similar provision existed for
and Yugoslav panies; given the absence of any dear connecting factor with a specific legal sys- choice of law rules, many arbitrators found it natural to apply the same national law applicable
tem. the arbitrators concluded that the panies" choice of Paris as the place of arbitration at least to procedure. The mandatory linkage with the procedural law of the seat was abolished in the
meant they had no ol/jection to the application of French law). 1975 Rules and has been progressively deemphasized since.
11 See. e.g. ICC Case 2391/1977, described by Yves Oerains in Case Commentary, 1977 JOI 949. 16 This sentiment was expressed in a 1967 award in ICC case 1455, where a Swiss arbitrator sitting
12 Preliminary Award of 19 December 1991. ICCArbitration No. 6401, 1 MEALEY"S INT. ARS. RfP. Bl in Switzerland declared, in respect to a dispute between German and Yugoslav panies: "There is
oanuary 1992). no such thing as potential rules of conflicts of laws which would tell an arbitrator from a third

324 325
§ 17.02 CHOICE OF SUBSfANllVE LAW CHOICE OF SUBSfANllVE LAW § 17.02

not consider any alternatives apart from: a) applying the conflict rules of the used by arbitrators resembles the approach used by many courts in determin-
place of arbitration, and b) adopting the conflict rules of the country of one of ing applicable law: by examining the provisions of the various potentially ap-
the parties. t 7 plicable substantive laws, it may be determined that in fact there is no
conflict and thus no need to make a choice.21 For example, an arbitrator sit-
In practice today, relatively few ICC arbitrators rely solely upon the choice ting in Switzerland to decide a dispute between an English and a French party
of law system of the seat of arbitration to determine the proper law of the might find that if the choice of law rules of England, France or Switzerland
contract. 18 were applied successively, the same material law of the contract would al-
In those cases where weight is given to the conflicts system of the seat, it is ways be chosen. The cumulative method is particularly apt for use in the arbi-
usually reinforced by reference to other systems of conflict relevant to the dis- tral process. By reference to the various potentially applicable rules of
pute. Such is the cumulative approach, to be described next. Whether special conflict, the arbitrators are able to infuse an international element into the
weight will be given to the rules of conflict of the seat may well depend upon proceedings and assure both parties that the issue has not been determined
the nationality of the arbitrators. English arbitrators are more likely to give by the narrow application of the system of a single state, whose relationship
such emphasis since the law in which they are trained tends to consider arbi- to the dispute is not necessarily predominant.
tration as part of the national system of justice, whereas continental arbitra- iii) Application of general principles of conflict of laws
tors are more likely to apply the cumulative system.
There is a divergence in the reasoning of different ICC tribunals in determin-
ii) Cumulative application of choice of law systems ing the jurisdictions which have a sufficient relation to the dispute to re-
The most frequent method used by ICC arbitrators to choose an appropriate quire that their conflicts system be taken into consideration. Tribunals
conflict of laws rule is perhaps the cumulative application qf the djjferent which emphasize the contractual nature of the proceedings tend to give pri-
rules qf co'lflict of the countries having a relation to the dispute.19 The ap- macy to the laws of the parties to the dispute and those relating to the trans-
proach is particularly satisfying to arbitrators when the different relevant action.22 Tribunals with a more procedural approach will consider the
conflict systems yield the same results.20 Thus the comparative approach conflict system of the place of arbitration and in some cases refer to the laws
of the parties to the transaction only to confirm primary reliance on the con-
flict system of the seat.23
country, without any link with the legal relationship between the panies, according to the pri- Other arbitrators have eschewed both the seat-of-arbitration and the cumula-
vate international law of what country he should determine the law applicable to the substance
of the dispute. There is funhermore no criterion which could tilt the scales in favour of German
tive approaches, more broadly applying "general pnnciples qf co!Jflict qf
private international law or Yugoslavian private international law. Application of either one laws. "24 Like the cumulative application of different systems, this method is
would look like an arbitraiy preference. Hence the solution which in actual practice is the most based on a comparative approach but with decreased attention on the con-
accessible is to refer to the rules of conflict of the lexJori, ·cited in Lew. supra Note I. at 256-257. nection between the examined laws and the contractual relationship at issue.
17 See, e.g. the award in ICC Case 1455/1967, id.
18 See. e.g. ICC Case 1422/1966. in 1974 JDI 884, where the award states in respect to choice of a In one ICC case, the arbitrator concluded that under "international concep-
conflict system: "Considering that it is appropriate to eliminate fonhwith the law of the forum, tions of private law," the center of gravity of contractual relations was the
whose connection with the case is purely fortuitous.· A«Ord, ICC Cases 4434/1983 JDI 893; place where a commercial agent exercised his activities: thus the law of that
2 730/1962, 1984 JDI 914. In light of this dear trend, the following statement by a sole arbitrator
in ICC Case 5460/1967 appears aberrant and anachronistic: "The place of this arbitration is Lon·
don. and on any question of choice of law I must therefore apply the relevant rules of the private
international law of England." XIII YEARBOOK 104, at 106 (1986), particularly in light of the fact
that the place of arbitration in that case had been established by the ICC rather than by agree- tent results. ICC arbitrators have used their freedom to choose applicable law to favor the law
ment of the panies. Article 46(3) of the English Arbitration Act 1996 now makes clear that there under which contractual provisions are deemed valid. ICC Cases 4145/1964. 1965 JDI 965:
is no obligation for an arbitral tribunal to apply English conflicts rules simply because the seat of 4996/1965, 1986 JOI 1132.
arbitration is in England. 21 In ICC Case 1525/1969, cited in Derains, supra note 19. at 99, the arbitrators decided that it was
19 Among the published ICC decisions applying the cumulative approach to choice of law are: ICC unnecessaiy to determine whether the issue of prescription was governed by the statute of limi-
Arbitration No. 4996/1985, 1966 JOI 1131, ICC Arbitration No. 4434/1963, 1963 JOI 693, ICC Ar- tation of Turkey (one yea., or Czechoslovakia (three years) since in any event a claim had been
bitration No. 2679/1976, 1979 JDI 990; ICC Arbitration No. 2096/1972, quoted in Yves Derains, filed within the shoner period.
L 'application cumulative par l'arbitre des systemes de co'lflits de lois interessees au litige. 1972 22 See. e.g. ICC Cases 1759 and 1990 of 1972, cited in Derains, supra note J9, at 105.
REV. ARB. 99, at 110.
23 ICC Case 2438/1975, in 1976 JOI 969 (arbitrator in Switzerland confirmed choice of Spanish law
20 See, e.g. ICC Case 3043/1976. in 1979 JDI 1000. where the arbitrator declared in passing that the by reference to conflict of laws systems of Switzerland, Italy and Spain).
result would not be different under any of the conflict systems of national laws having any con·
nection with the controversy. When two laws with claims to applicabiliiywould lead to inconsis- 24 ICC Case 2096/1972, cited in Derains. supra note 19. at 110.

326 327
§ 17.02 OfOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.02

country should be applied.25 In other cases on similar grounds the law of the ceives as universal norms or usages as concerns choice oflaw,33 it may often
place of performance was chosen.26 In another case, the arbitrator applied be analyzed as a tacit adoption of "general principles."
"criteria of localisation generally applied in private international law" in or-
der to determine the jurisdiction with the closest connection to the transac- v) Free choice by arbitrator without reference to any system of conflicts
tion.27 Sometimes an arbitrator will expressly state that he "does not deem it A final approach, specifically recognized in Article 17(1) of the Rules and its
necessary to determine the applicable law according to any national system provision that, in the absence of party choice, the arbitral tribunal may apply
of conflict of laws," including those of the jurisdiction with the closest con- the rules of law "which it determines to be appropriate" is the choice by the
nection to the case;28 instead, he will determine the applicable law by the cri- arbitrator of the applicable law (or rules oflaw) without passing through any
teria of "objective localization·29 as permitted under generally accepted system of conflicts whatsoever. This possibility of direct choice of the applica-
choice of law rules. A recognized source of general principles of conflicts of ble law permits arbitrators to choose rules of law appropriate for the very case
law is international conventions on the subject whether in force or not and before them, without concern for whether the same principles could be ap-
whether or not the countries of which the parties to the arbitration are na- plied in another case. One of the factors which weighs on whether a law
tionals are bound by the Convention.30 would be deemed appropriate is whether it would recognize and give force to
the agreement between the parties. Where parties have entered into an agree-
iv) Application of a conflict of laws rule chosen directly by the arbitrator ment and entrusted its interpretation and enforcement to arbitrators it goes
A fourth approach widely used by arbitrators is to app{y a coTJ!lict qflaws rule without saying that the arbitrators will favor the application of a law which
direct{y, without reference to a national law system or systems.31 Thus, in de- permits its enforcement over one that will invalidate it.34 Since arbitrators
termining whether a party had capacity to contract, the arbitrator would ap- utilizing the direct choice method will generally seek to justify their choice by
ply the conflict rule that questions of capacity are determined by the national reference to principles of some kind, the method is not always distinguish-
laws of the person concerned, without seeking to demonstrate that that rule able from the arbitrators' freedom to app{y a coTJflict qflaw rule direct{y. 35 But
has a foundation in a specifically applicable national law.32 Since this the direct choice method in theory liberates the arbitrators from having to jus-
method requires at least an implicit recognition of what the arbitrator per- tify and explain their choice by the application of choice of laws principles.
Nevertheless, in order to fulfill its obligation under Article 25(2) to give a rea-
soned award the arbitral tribunal should state why it found the rules oflaw it
chose to be appropriate.

25 ICC Case 2585/1977, cited in Y. Oerains, Case Commentary, 1978 JOI 998. See also ICC Case
2680/1977, cited in id. at 997-998.
26 ICC Arbitration No. 3755/1988, 1 ICC BULL. 25 (December 1990) (turnkey contract); ICC Arbitra-
tion No. 6560/1990, XVII YEARBOOK226 (1992).
27 ICC Case 2734/1977, cited in Y. Derains, supra note 25 at 998.
28 ICCCase3043/1978, 1979JDI 1000.
29 Id. 33 This recognition was entirely explicit in ICC Case 4650/1985, extracts in XII YEARBOOK 111
(1987). involving a U.S. architect and a Saudi Arabian company, where three arbitrators sitting
30 Conventions which are frequently referred to include the 1980 Rome Convention on the Law Ap- in Geneva reasoned as follows. id. at 112:
plicable to Contractual Obligations. the Vienna Convention of 1980 on the International Sale of
Goods, and the 1955 Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to the International Sale of The arbitral tribunal does not deem it necessary in this case to decide on a specific rule of
Goods. for an example.see ICC Arbitration No. 7585/1994, 1995 JDI 1015, noteY. Derains(Ap- conflict co designate the proper law of the contract in view of the face that most major rules
plication of the Vienna Convention of 11 April 1980 together with cumulative application of rele- in some form or other point to the place of the characteristic or dominant work and that in
vant national choice of law rules). the opinion of the arbitral tribunal there can be no doubt that the dominant or characteristic
work performed under the agreement was performed in Georgia, USA.
31 See. e.g. ICC Case 2879/1978, in 1979 JDI 990. In this panicularlywell-reasonedaward, the arbi-
trators simply affirmed that they would apply the law of the place of performance of the contract, The arbitral tribunal notes that a decision in favor of the laws of the State of Georgia would
using this criterion without any indication of having found it in any panicular national law or be consistent with international rules regarding the provision of engineering services.
laws. This approach. as well as the free choice by an atbitrator without reference to any system 34 See ICC Arbitration No. 4145/1984, XII YEARBOOK 97 (1987), 1985 JOI 985, note Y. Derains; see
of conflicts (see I7.02 v, iefra) has been characterized by P. L.alive as the voiedirer:te, in Les reg/es generally. fOUC!IARD, GAJUAl\D, GoUJMAN ON l!'oITER.NATIONAL COMMEl\CIAL ARBITMTION 876
de corJ/lits de lois appliquees aufond du Utige par /'tubitre international sit!geant en Suisse, su- (Kluwer 1999).
pra note 7, at 181. See alro ICC Cases 4132/1983, 1983 JD! 891; 3880/1983, 1983 JDI 897. 35 See Pierre Lalive. Les reg/es de conjlits de lois appliquees aufond du litige par /'arbitre interna-
32 See ICC Case 2694/1977, in 1978 JOI 985. tional sit!gant en Suisse. 1976 REv. ARB. 155 and text at footnote 31, supra.

328 329
§ 17.03 CHOICE OFSUBSfANTIVE LAW CHOICE Of SUBSfANTIVE LAW § 17.03

17 .03 Application of contractual tenns, relevant trade usage, and "lex terms and to evidence of usages? Apart from this abstract question, interna-
mercatoria" tional arbitrators have every reason to reflect on the practical reality that one
of the reasons for choosing arbitration is to avoid an overly legalistic ap-
i) Application of contractual tenns and relevant trade usage
proach to the solution of commercial conflicts. Businessmen frequently feel
In a review of the first edition of this book, J. G. Wetter wrote that that courts do not understand the realities of trade and commerce. Arbitra-
... in practice (except in England and possibly also in the U.S.), interna- tors. whose mission is derived entirely from the parties' contract, should, and
tional arbitral tribunals consider juridical issues as questions eflaw and generally do, give precedence to the rules the parties established for their rela-
not as facts to be proven by experts or otherwise. Such issues are then tionship, i.e. the terms of their contract. It is for this reason that Article 17(2)
decided direct{y and are encompassed by the maximjura novit curia. (In of the ICC Rules provides that "in all cases the Arbitral Tribunal shall take ac-
recent years. international law is increasingly invoked in awards. It is count of the provision of the contract and the relevant trade usages.· (Em-
probably not unusual that arbitrators who rely on it and declare its con- phasis added.) At the time this formulation was included in the 1975 Rules.
tents lack academic training in the subject.) Be this as it may, there is no Jean Robert, Vice Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, stated: "It is legitimate
doubt that the first and most obvious duty of an international arbitral here to think that this formula opens the way to a form of arbitration more or
tribunal is to decide issues of law in accordance with applicable law, less unbound, in the future, from legalistic constraints. "37
even if in a given case each arbitrator lacks practical as well as formal The requirements of Article 17(2) may be seen either as a complement to the
competence. 36 provision of a national substantive law determined to be applicable to the
This observation as to the "first and most obvious duty" of an international contract, or as a substitute for application of a national substantive law.
arbitrator should be recognized as a building block for analysis rather than as Even where arbitrators have determined that a single national law governs
a final conclusion. It is commonplace for national laws to consider as a gen- the interpretation and execution of the contract in question. specific terms of
eral rule that business contracts form the "law of the parties" (pacta sunt the contract tend to take precedence over principles of statutory or case law,
servanda), and national laws may take account of trade usages when evalu- unless the legal provision is of mandatory effect (as for instance laws relating
ating the parties· undertakings and performance. To what extent will then to the exercise of state power).
the otherwise relevant rules of the applicable law give way to contractual
Reference to trade usages may frequently fill gaps in the applicable law, since
usages in the world of international commerce may frequently develop more
36 Book Review. 1984 SVENSKJURISITIDNING 156. at 160. note 3. With regard to the question ofhow rapidly than the law.38 Trade usage may be found in formalized rules such as
an ICC tribunal should inform itself as to the applicable law. see Case 5418/1987; XIII YEARBOOK the lncoterms published by the ICC and widely accepted in international sales
91 (1988). in which a tribunal presided by an Austrian chairman, sitting in Paris. dealt with a and shipping contracts, the Uniform Rules and Practice for Documentary
controversy with respect to the means of establishing the applicable {Hungarian) law as follows:
Credits (also published by the ICC). and the ICC rules governing standby letters
"When determining the law the tribunal may either make its own research or appoint an ex·
pert under Art. 14(2) of the [prior) Rules or may hear experts presented by the parties. It is a of credit known as International Standby Practices (ISP 98).39 They are also
matter of the circumstances of the given case whether the tribunal assumes that one or the found in standardized conditions of contract applicable to certain industries.
other way is more appropriate." Id. at 102. or included in widely accepted international treaties (such as the Hague Con-
Whichever alternative is used. the arbitral tribunal should take care to assure that the due pro· vention on Sales of 1955 or the 1980 Vienna Convention on the International
cess rights of the parties are preserved. and that each is given the opponunity to respond to the
interpretation which is presented against it. In ICC Arbitration No. 5285. where the place of arbi·
tration was Mexico City, the arbitral tribunal appointed its own expert on New York law but did
not inform the parties of the identity of its expert or his conclusions. The award was attacked in 37 ICC Document No. 420/179, 25 May 1975.
New York on due process grounds, an attack which failed only because the complaining party 38 An example of such a supplemental)' reference to trade usage Is found in ICC Case 14 72/1968,
had not objected to the procedure at the time and was held to have waived the objection. ISEC v. quoted in Yves De rains. Le statut des usages du rommerce international devant /es juridictions
Bridas. 745 F. SUPP. 172 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), XVII YEARBOOK 639. arbitrates. 1973 REv. ARB. 122. at 141. The tribunal in that case decided, forthe interpretation
i\s to the situation in England. if. the statement by the sole arbitrator in ICC Case 5460/1987. and execution of the agreement. to "apply French national law. completed, ifnecessaiy. in sup·
XIII YEARBOOK 104. at 106 (1988): "Under the rules of English private international law. foreign plementaiy fashion. by the rules and usages ... applicable to international contracts.· A more
law is a question of fact, to be established by expert evidence; failing evidence to the contraiy, recent example is found in ICC Arbitration No. 8873/1997, 1998 JDI 1817, note Dominique
English private international law compels me to assume that any foreign law is the same as Hascher.
English domestic law.· Pursuant to Section 34 of English Arbitration Act 1996 an arbitral tribu- 39 For the DOCDEX Rules. see Section 38.09. The ISP 98 Rules were formulated by the ICC's Insti·
nal now has discretion as to procedural and evidential matters and hence may take the initia· tute of International Law and Banking and were introduced to clarify the distinction between
tive, as permitted under the ICC Rules Article 17(1), to determine the choice of law issue without standby letters of credit and standard commercial (or documentary) letters of credit. The rules
hearing expert testimony and without considering the choice of law issue as one of fact. came into effect on Januaiy 1. 1999.

330 331
§ 17.03 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.03

Sale of Goods) even though such treaties do not apply as a matter of law to In the absence of a specific agreement, the arbitrators may nonetheless deter-
the transaction. Numerous other trade usages or practices will be recognized mine that such was the intent of the parties and submit the agreement to
according to the nature of the transaction and the field of activity.40 such international norms. This is not always a satisfactory solution as nei-
ther general principles of law nor trade usages present a complete system of
Arbitrators have referred to trade usages as a substitute for the application of
law. Certain questions by their nature are ordinarily (but not exclusively) gov-
a national law. Thus, in a claim by a French company against a Spanish com-
erned by a national law (such as capacity to contract, corporate powers, pre-
pany and a Bahamian company for reimbursement of expenses for the prepa-
scription. statutory interest, and the like). Nevertheless, in an increasing
ration of a submission for a public works project in Spain, the arbitral
number of international disputes, arbitrators have ruled that the obligations
tribunal rejected the application of Spanish law to the interpretation of a se-
of the parties are to be determined according to international trade usages
ries of contracts among different members of two international groups of
and customs or general principles of law without reference to a specific na-
companies.41 While acknowledging that Spanish law and regulations would
tional law. In many cases such awards may more nearly establish the real in-
be applicable to corporate formalities and to the regulation of operations in
tent of the parties than would the application of a conflictualist approach
Spain. the tribunal held that Spanish law would not be applicable either to
which seeks to impose a single choice of national law.
the evaluation of the consequences of pre-operational negotiations between
the parties or to the responsibility for preparing the preliminary study in Reference to general principles of law has a long tradition in international ar-
question. In these circumstances, the tribunal found that the contractual rela- bitration. 43 What has become more remarkable in ICC arbitral precedents is
tions among the parties were to be determined under general principles oflaw the readiness of some tribunals to state expressly that they have decided the
and international usages and customs. case without reference whatsoever to any national law. One of the first such
declarations of emancipation was the award rendered in ICC case 1641/1969,
The application of trade usages is consistent with the primacy of contractual
terms. Usages may be deemed incorporated into the contract as a matter of spe- where the tribunal baldly stated:
cific intent (for instance, if reference is made in the contract to Incoterms, or The parties did not indicate in their agreements or their correspondence
contracting regulations), or by implication (a custom is not referred to but is the national law to which they intended their relationship or their dis-
deemed by the arbitrators to have been within the contemplation of the par- putes might be subjected.
ties). 42 In this sense trade usage can be said to be internal to the contract and They thus implicitly gave the arbitrator the discretion and the power, in
an expression of what the parties intended or can be deemed to have intended. order to interpret their obligations, to apply the norms of law and, in the
ii) Application of lex mercatoria absence thereof, commercial usages.44
In addition to relevant trade usage which they are bound to apply under the In commenting on this decision, the then Secretary of the ICC Commission on
Rules arbitrators may be led to apply what is sometimes referred to as the International Arbitration noted that the expression "norms oflaw" was indis-
new lex mercatoria, or international law merchant (see Chapter 35). As has tinguishable from expressions such as "general principles of law" or "rules
been seen in Section 7.04, parties occasionally enter into an explicit agree- common to civilized nations. "45 Over the thirty years since that decision, a
ment that the norms of international commerce are to govern their contract. number of ICC tribunals have found it possible and appropriate to base their
decisions on general principles or usages without any reference to a single

40 See ICC Case 3202/1978, extracts in 1979 JD! 1003 (general conditions of factoring). An overview
of the application of trade usage by arbitrators in ICC arbitration is found in Dossiers of the Insti-
tute. INTERNATIONAL TRADE USAGE, ICC Pub. No. 440/4.
41 ICC Case 2375/1975, extracts in 1976 JD! 973. See also ICC Case 1990/1972. extracts Ii! 1974 JOI
897 and 1972 REv. ARB. 100; extracts in English in III YEARBOOK217 (1978). In the latter case,
having determined that all issues relating to the termination and adaptation of the contract due
to external circumstances could be determined on the basis of the contract itself, the arbitrator 43 Some of the famous early arbitral precedents which looked to the application of generally recog·
found that it was nonetheless necessaty to refer to provisions of national law to determine nized international norms or a "common law of nations" include: Petroleum Development
whether a charge of unfair competition was justified. (l'rucial Coast) Ltd. v. Sheik of Abu Dhabi, 2 INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW QuARTERLY
24 7 (1952); S.E.E.E. v. Yugoslavia, Arbitral Award of 2 July I 956 of Messrs. Panchaud and
42 This statement is cited with approval by DEIWNS & SC!fwARTZ, 225, who attempt to distinguish Ripert, extracts in 1959 JOI 1074; the Aramco Case, 1963 REvuE CRmQUE DE DRorr INTERNA·
between trade usage, said to be based on an agreement by which the parties observe the usual TIONAL l'RIVt 2 72.
practices in their sector of business. and lex mermtcria, said to be legal rules arising out of inter·
national commerce independent of the agreement of the parties. There is, however. considerable 44 See extracts in I 974 )DI 888.
overlap between the two concepts. 45 See Y. Derains, Case Commentary, 1974 )DI 890.

332 333
§ 17.03 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW OiOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.03

national governing law. 46 They have done so in cases where they had amia- The arbitral tribunal had applied no single national law. whether French,
ble compositeur powers and in cases where they did not.47 Turkish, or Austrian, but had simply based its decision on its understanding
of the agreement, on lex mercatona. and on the principles of good faith deal-
The concept of a legally binding resolution of contractual disputes not
ings and mutual trust in business relations. The arbitrators affirmed that
founded on a specific national proper law stirred controversy among schol-
they understood lex mercatoria to include a rule that damages are payable if a
ars. 48 It may be of interest to consider how the issue has been dealt with by
contract is wrongfully terminated causing loss to the innocent party. In the
the courts in the few notable cases that have arisen in Austria, France and
award the word "equity" was used twice.
England.
Norsolor sought to have the award set aside by the Austrian courts. The Court
lnNorsolorv. Pabalk Ticaret,49 Norsolor. a French company, had been held li-
of Appeal of Vienna set aside a portion of the award (to wit the amount of
able by ICC arbitrators for breach of contract with its Turkish commercial
damages),51 reasoning that the arbitrators had failed to conform to the sec-
agent. and ordered to pay damages. Vienna had been selected by the ICC as
ond sentence of Article 13(3) of the 1975 Rules:
the place of arbitration. No applicable national law had been agreed by the
parties. nor had the parties given the arbitrators the power to act as amiables In the absence of any indication by the parties as to the applicable law,
compositeurs. 50 the arbitrator shall apply the law designated as the proper law by the
rule of conflict which he deems appropriate.
The Court of Appeal deemed this sentence to require the arbitrators to ground
their decision in a national law determined by a conflict-of-law analysis, (a
46 See. e.g.• ICC Case 3267/1979, extracts in 1980 JOI 961, where the arbitrator, having confirmed requirement which no longer exists in the 1998 Rules); it was not permissible
the absence of a choice of law clause in the contracts, and having noted that neither party had to refer to lex mercatoria. As the arbitral tribunal had not shown that French
relied on a specific provision of national law. applied "the general principles widely admitted and Turkish law were identical with respect to the principal issues of the case.
and regulating international commercial law, without reference to a particular system oflaw. ·A
similar approach is found in ICC Case 1859/1973, extracts in 1973 REV. ARB. 133, where the ar-
the Court of Appeal felt that the arbitrators had had a duty to determine which
bitrator stated: "The contract was to be performed in three different countries .... it was clear of the two laws was applicable.
that the parties intended to refer to the general principles and practices of international trade.·
See also ICC Arbitration No. 8365/1996, 1997 JOI 1078, note Jean Jacques Arnaldez (contract The Austrian Supreme Court reversed the decision and reinstated the
provided that applicable law was international law; arbitrator held that the reference to interna- award.52 It held in particular that the arbitrators had not violated any man-
tional law expressed parties' wish that contract be governed by no national law at all; held that datory norms of law. Furthermore. the Supreme Court rejected the argument
contract was governed by lex mercatoria): ICC Arbitration No. 8385/1995, 1997 JDI 1061, note
Yves Derains (application by sole arbitrator of lex mercaroria regarding piercing the corporate
that the arbitrators had exceeded their jurisdictional powers. Although it rec-
veil of a companY). ognized that the arbitral tribunal had applied principles of equity in awarding
47 Amiable compositeur awards see Chapter 18 (which are based on the premise that they need not the sum of 800,000 French francs, and that the parties had not given to the
be founded in law): ICC Cases 3267/1979, 1980 JOI 961, extracts in English in II YEhRBOOK 96 arbitrators the powers of amiables compositeurs under Article 13(4) of the
(1982); 3540/1980, 1981JOI914, extracts in English in VII YIWUIOOK 124 (1982); and an ad hoc 1975 ICC Rules. the arbitrators· action was not in excess of their jurisdiction;
award of 1977, 1980 REv. ARB. 560, extracts in English in VII YEARBOOK 77 (1982). Awanls ren-
dered by arbitrators not empowered to act as amiables cornpositeurs: ICC Cases 3131/1979
the decision disposed of issues within the scope of the agreement to arbitrate.
(Norsolor"). IX YEARBOOK 109 (1984) (upheld by the Austrian Supreme Court, IX YEARBOOK 159 Article 17(1) of the 1998 Rules (replacing Article 13(3) of the prior version
(1984) and enforced by the French Supreme Court, 24 ILM 360 (1985)); Fougerolles v. Banque
du Proche Orient, unpublished award rendered in Geneva. enforced by the French Cour de cassa- of the Rules) is intended to confirm arbitrators' authority to follow the ap-
tion, 9 December 1981, 1982 JOI 931, 1982 REY. ARB. 183; 3820/1981, VII YEhRBOOK 134 proach taken in this case, when it states that in the absence of agreement by
(1982); 4338/1984, 1985 JOI 981; and 5065/1986, 1987 JOI 1039.Seealso the award of20 June the parties the tribunal "shall apply the rules of law which it determines to
1980 rendered by arbitrators of the Netherlands Oils, Fats and Oilseeds Trade Association, ex-
tracts in VI YEARBOOK 144 ( 1981).
be appropriate."
48 For contemporary restatements of the reluctance to embrace lex mercatoria as a juridical system
giving rise to legal obligations, see P. Lagarde, Approche critique de la lex mercaroria. in LE ORorr
DES REIATIONS EcoNOMIQUES INTERNATIONALES, supra note 37, at 125; M. Mustill 7he New lex
Mercatoria: 71re First Twenty-Five Years, 4 ARB. INT. 86 (1988); see also). Paulsson, La lex
mercatoria dans ['arbitrage CCI, 1990 REV. ARB. 55 and Filip DeLy, IITTERNATIONAI. BUSINESS LAW
AND LEx MERCATORIA (North Holland Press 1992).
49 Supreme Court, Austria, 18 November 1982. 1983 RECIIT DER INTERNATIONAL EN WIRTSQ!AfT 29,
868; excerpts in English in IX YEARBOOK 159 (1984). 51 Summarized in VIII YEARBOOK365 (1983).
50 ICC Arbitration No. 3131, IX YEARBOOK 109 (1984). 52 Supra note 49.

334 335
§ 17.03 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE I.AW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE I.AW § 17.03

In a similar decision,53 the French Supreme Court also upheld an ICC award supreme courts of Austria (as the place of arbitration in the Norsolor case)
rendered in Geneva where the arbitrators, having applied principles "gener- and France (as the place of execution in the Fougerolles case) have appeared
ally applicable in international commerce," were accused by the losing party to accept the legitimacy of awards rendered on such a foundation. It is like-
of having usurped the role of amiables compositeurs. The evolution of French wise true that the Court of Appeals of England accepted in t 988 to recognize
case law led a respected commentator to affirm that henceforth there is no such an ICC award rendered in Geneva,57 stating: "By choosing to arbitrate
doubt that international lex mercatoria comports positive juridical norms.54 under the Rules of the ICC and. in particular, Art. t 3(3), the parties have left
Indeed, French law now permits parties and arbitrators to subject an interna- proper law to be decided by the arbitrators and have not in terms colJfined the
tional contractual dispute to norms other than those provided by a single na- choice to national systems qflaw. ·58 (Emphasis added.) There is thus increas-
tional legal system; rather than speaking of "the proper law" of contracts, ing support for the proposition that lex mercatoria is more than an academic
concept.59
Article 1496 of the Code of Civil Procedure as of 198 t provides:
The arbitrator shall decide the dispute according to the rules qflaw cho- One must immediately note, however, that the matter remains controversial
sen by the parties; in the absence of such a choice, he shall decide ac- and so invites litigation. In England, for example, the just-quoted decision
cording to those he deems appropriate. has hardly generated enthusiasm for the proposition that arbitrators sitting
in England may declare lex mercatona as the proper law. To the contrary,
He shall in all cases take into account trade usages. (Emphasis added.)55 commentators have questioned whether an award rendered under such cir-
In light of the fuller discussion in Chapter 35, the authors would sum up the cumstances would be consonant with English public policy, particularly in
present situation as follows. ICC arbitrators have the duty under Article t 7(2) the absence of a stipulation by the parties in favor of lex mercatoria or some
of the Rules to "take account of ... the relevant trade usage" and may pursu- other form of general principles.60 Whatever the arbitrator's private opinion
ant to Article t 7 ( 1) apply "rules of law" as opposed to a specific national law. about the normative comprehensiveness of lex mercatoria as a legal system,
To the extent that they refer to lex mercatona in this limited sense, arbitrators and irrespective of its attractiveness if the sole criterion is the appearance of
may concomitantly be applying a national law. Indeed, it has become com- neutrality, it is the present authors' view, as matters stand today in most
monplace to find references in ICC awards to prior awards. and although one countries, that ICC arbitrators run the risk of doing mischief if they declare lex
should be aware of the dangers of creating a context in which tribunals be- mercatoria to be the governing law. The proper conduct would seem to be that
come concerned about the implications of their decisions for parties other of the tribunal in ICC Case 4650, which declined to accept lex mercatona as
than the ones before them (whose contract is. after all, the only source of the the applicable law in the absence of any proof that the parties had so in-
arbitrator's authority), the emergence of a body of arbitral precedents appears tended; "the choice of such a law would require an agreement between the
to have some utility, particularly in situations where the otherwise applicable parties ... "61 Arbitrators have considerable freedom under the ICC Rules. The
law is difficult to determine.56 authors are aware of no case in which an ICC award has been set aside on the
grounds that the arbitrators made a mistaken choice ofapplicable law. ICC ar-
The controversy begins when arbitrators are invited to declare lex mercatoria bitrators may rely on usages and on arbitral precedents, irrespective of their
or some other general set of rules to be the sole proper law. It is true that the determination of applicable law. Under these conditions, it would seem futile
and imprudent to make abstract declarations to the effect that they have ren-

53 Courdecassation, 9 December 1981. Fougerolle (France) v. Banque du Proche Orient (Lebanon)

1982 )DI 931; 1982 REV. ARB. 183. The Norsolor award itself was subsequently granted
exequatur in France. Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 20 June I 983, Societe Norsolor S.A.
v. Societe Pabalk Ticaret Sirketi 1983 REv. ARB. 465.
57 Deutsche Shachtbau- und Tielbohrgesellschaft mbH v. Ras Al Khaimah National Oil Co. and
54 B. Oppetit, Case Note, I 982 )DI 931, at 940. Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd., [1987] 2 u.ovo·s L. REP. 246, [1987] 2 ALL E.R. 769; ex-
55 Reproduced in the Annex to Chapter 30. As of I 986. Anicle 1052(2) of the Netherlands Code of tracts in XIII YE!JUlooK 522 (I 988); reversed on other grounds by the House of Lords, [I 988] 2
Civil Procedure authorizes arbitrators, in the absence of a party stipulation of applicable law, to ALL E.R. 833.
decide in accordance with "the rules oflaw" they consider ·appropriate.· The legislative history 58 XIII YEAf\BOOK at 535 (I 988).
indicates that such "rules oflaw" need not be found in national legal systems but may be derived
from lex mercatoria; A. J. van den Berg, National Report, XII YEAR!lOOK 3, at 25 (1987). 59 See e.g. FOUCHARD, GMl.llJUJ AND GOLDMAN ON l!ITERW..TION:\L CoMMER<l!U. ARBITR:\TION, 945
(Kluwer I 999); E. Gaillard, Thirty Ya:zr.5 if Lex Mercatoria: Towards the Discriminating Applica-
56 ICC Case 4761/1987 gave rise to Terms of Reference agreed by both panies (Italian and Libyan) tion if Transnational Rules, ICCA CONGRESS SERIES No. 7, 570 (Kluwer I 996).
to the effect that Libyan law was "in principle applicable to all aspectsofthedispute,"but that in
the absence of proof of Libyan law, the tribunal "shall apply lex mercatona, i.e. general princi- 60 See. e.g., Mustill, supra note 48, at 108.
ples of law,· extracts in 1986 JDI 1137. 61 XII YEARBOOK 112 (1987). (A three-membertribunal sitting in Geneva and chaired by R. Briner.)

336 337
 ....,

QfOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.04

§ 17.04 OIOICE OF SUBSTANlWE IAW

ered an award on a legal foundation whose legitimacy may still not be appar- any ICC arbitration where the arbitrators have refused to recognize the par-
ent to many national courts. 62 ties' contractual choice of law.65
However, there may be circumstances in which arguments are raised to the ef-
17.04 Influence of public law and international public policy fect that the law chosen by the parties or determined by the arbitrators to be ap-
Parties to international contracts often refer to arbitration as a conscious at- plicable should be partially displaced by mandatory provisions of another law.
tempt to avoid the national courts of either party. The parties' choice of the The issue is illustrated by a 1974 ICC arbitration award rendered by a sole ar-
proper law may also reflect a desire to avoid otherwise applicable national bitrator in a case involving the refusal of the National Bank of Pakistan to
laws. In the absence of a specific choice of law by the parties, the application pay a guarantee in favor of an Indian pany.66 The guarantee was governed
of the tribunals' choice of law rules may result in the designation of a proper by Indian law and was payable in India. The Bank justified its non-payment
law of contract foreign to one or both of the parties. The arbitrator will fre- on the grounds, inter alia, that it was forbidden by emergency Pakistani ex-
quently be forced to decide whether the intent of the parties can be given full change controls from paying the guarantee due to the armed conflict which
effect in the face of arguments by one of the parties that such application had broken out between India and Pakistan.
would contravene mandatory public laws.63
Jn ordering the Bank to make the payment, the arbitrator relied on the fact
In this context, one problem can be easily disposed of. This is the doubt. occa- that the proper law of the contract was Indian law, which governed the cre-
sionally raised in litigation before national courts. whether the parties are ation, validity, extent, and extinction of the obligation. Under Indian law
free to choose a law to govern their contract which has no rational relation- there was no excuse for non-payment. The defendant had relied on judicial
ship to the contract or the parties.64 precedents which indicated that an obligation of payment under the proper
Courts have generally recognized that conflict of laws rules give wide discre- law of a contract should be disregarded where such payment was forbidden
tion to party autonomy as to the choice oflaw. On those few occasions where by the lex loci solutionis, the law of the place where the Bank had to take the
national courts have refused to recognize the parties' choice oflaw, it has al- necessary steps to effect payment. The arbitrator questioned this assumption
most always been because of the national court's desire to apply its own law, in the award and ruled that, in any event, if the payment were required both
lex.fan". An international arbitral tribunal, on the other hand, cannot be con- under the proper law of the contract and the law of the contractually stipu-
sidered to have a lexJori. There is no reason for arbitrators to invalidate such lated place of payment (India in both cases), such an obligation must be hon-
a choice only because the chosen law has no nexus with the contract, the par- ored. In the award, he reasoned that:
ties, or the dispute. International commercial contracts containing ICC arbi- Sitting at Geneva, as an international arbitrator acting according to the
tration clauses frequently stipulate a neutral foreign law as the proper law of Rules of the ICC, chosen by the parties, I do not consider myself bound by
the contract. The most frequently used laws in such circumstances appear to these decisions [reference had been made to English case law] as might
be those of England, France, and Switzerland. The authors are unaware of be an English judge or arbitrator. Moreover, even if I were sitting in Eng-
land, I would be reticent to decide that an illegality arising according to a
foreign lex loci solutionis has any effect whatsoever where the proper
law is a foreign law... The dominant tendency, however. in the absence
62 As the then General Counsel of the ICC Court of Arl>itration wrote in 1986, "by comparison with
the number of cases submitted to (ICq arbitration, /ex merc:atoria appears only rarely ... one
of a direct precedent on this question seems clearly in favor of a negative
should not come away with the impression that most ICC arbitrations. or even a large proportion response, that is to say that it is the proper law, and not that of the place
of them, refer to lex mercatoria.· 1986 JOI at 1138. Indeed, an examination of the relevant arbi- of payment, that determines the question of whether a debtor is dis-
tration clauses in 237 cases submitted to the ICC Court in 1987 revealed that only one provided charged by law of his contractual obligation.
that disputes should be settled "on the basis of international law," and none mentioned lex
mercatoria, S. Bond.How to Dreftan Arbit:nltion Clause, paper given at a conference on the va-
lidity ofarbitral awards (unpublished), Athens, 17 March 1988.
63 P. Mayer, Mandatory Rules ifLaw in International Arbiuation. 2 ARB. INT. 274 (1986); saalS'o
M. Blessing.Impact efMandatory Rule, Sanctions, Competition Laws. in INTRODUCTION To ARBI- 65 for the proposition that the parties' freedom to choose the substantive law governing their con-
TRATION-SWISS hND INTERNhllONJ\L PERSPECTIVES (Swiss Commercial Law Series. Helbing & tract is based on general principles of the law of international commerce, see ICC Arbitration No.
Lichtenhahn Verlag AG, Basie, 1999); M. Blessing. Mandatory Rules efLaw versus Party Auton- 5865/1989, 1998 JOI 1008, note Dominique Hascher.
omy in International Arbitration, 14 J. INT. ARB. 23 (No. 4. 1997); S. Lazare!T, Mandatory Extra- 66 ICC ease 1512/1971. also discussed in Section 5.01. extracts in I YEhRBOOK 128 (1976); extracts
tenitonal Application efNational Law Rules, ICCA CoNGRESS SERIES No. 7, 538 (Kluwer 1996). in French translation in 1974 JOI 904. Other awards deferring to laws of public policy in force at
64 In England, see Vita Food Products v. Unus Shipping Co .. 1939 A. C. 277 at 289; in france,seeH. the place of performance include ICC Case 185911973, cited in Yves Dcrains, supra note 38; and
Battifol and P. Lagarde, DROIT INTERNhllONJ\L PRIVE, (6th edition) No. 544. ICC ease 328111981, extracts in 1982 JDI 990.

338 339
§ 17.04 CHOICE 6F SUBSTANTIVE IAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.04

... Even if the issue of whether the foreign law of the place of perfor- effort co make sure that the award is enforceable at law, there may be occa-
mance (foreign in respect to the forum) determines this question. is sions when this interest must give way to the need to render an award which
doubtful, there seems to exist on one point at least unanimity when the conforms co the contractual intention of the parties, particularly if the award
contract is valid in virtue of the proper law and when this law is also that may be enforced in other jurisdictions.
of the place of execution ... However, in the present case the guarantee
provides that payment would be made in India. In this case the arbitra- This discussion should not lead to the easy conclusion that ICC arbitrators in-
tor is of the opinion that Pakistan's law, the law of the residence of the variably apply the proper law of the contract to validate an obligation al-
debtor, is not to be applied. though performance thereof would be illegal at the intended place of
performance. Despite respectable arguments to the contrary,68 most interna-
The proper law of the contract may thus uphold contractually defined obliga- tional arbitral tribunals would in all likelihood be extremely reluctant to re-
tions despite alleged impossibility or illegality under the national laws of one quire a party to perform--0r to pay damages for its failure to perfor~-when
of the parties. at least where the contract was not necessarily to be performed a mandatory national law in effect at the place of performance forbids such
in the country whose law was alleged to treat such performance as illegal. performance. The determination of this delicate issue would depend on the
Accordingly, in the Toprak v. Finagrain arbitration,6 7 Toprak, a Turkish State specific circumstances of the case (most importantly if there had been a
trading agency agreed, under a contract governed by English law, to purchase contractual assumption of the risk of the legal impediment), the nature of the
wheat at fixed prices and to open an irrevocable letter of credit with a first mandatory rules, and the consequences of their application.
class United States or West European bank to cover payment. After a substan- The issue has arisen in several cases involving the enforceability of contracts
tial drop in world market prices, the Turkish Ministry of Commerce instructed where defendants have argued that the agreement is null because it violates
Toprak to renegotiate the contract at a lower price. When such renegotiation the antitrust provisions of the EEC Convention. After finding that the dispute
attempts failed, the Turkish Government refused to grant an import license to was arbitrable (see Section 5.07). the arbitrator in one illustrative ICC case
Toprak. Toprak had warranted that it would obtain required import authori- reasoned that he had a duty to determine whether the defense of nullity was
zations. It was not contested that without such an import license, the buyer valid because he could not enforce a contract that was contrary to public pol-
could not import the grain, nor establish a letter of credit. icy. Under the circumstances of that case, he held that the contract was not
The arbitral tribunal, sustained on appeal by the English Court of Appeal, contrary to public policy, and stated:
found the Turkish state agency liable for breach of contract. The contract at A dispute relating essentially to the validity or to the nullity of a contract
signature was not intended to violate the laws of the country to which the in light of Article 85 of the Treaty of Rome would be outside the jurisdic-
goods were to be shipped. More importantly, the purchaser's obligation to
supply a letter of credit, guaranteeing full payment of goods against docu-
ments, could have been performed outside of Turkey where no illegality could
68 Professor L. Hjemer, in Choice ifLaw Problems in /ntemational Arbitration with Particular Refer·
be claimed. ence to Arbitration in Sweden. 1982 YEARBOOK Of THE ARBITRATION INSTITUfE Of THE STOCKHOL\.I.
CllhMBER Of COMMERCE 18, took the position that the provisions of Article 13(3) [Article 17(1~ of
The power of the arbitrator to give effect to the proper law of the contract ei- the 1998 Rules) confirming the powers of the parties to choose applicable law, and instructing
ther chosen by the parties or indicated by the appropriate rule of conflict is an the arbitrator, in the absence of such a choice, to apply the proper law according to such rules as
important factor in the efficacy of international arbitration. By choosing an he may "deem appropriate." constitute a mandate to the arbitrators to apply such law to the ex-
international tribunal for the settlement of their disputes and by stipulating clusion of mandatory provisions of other laws. He pointed out that the Swedish National Com·
mittee of the ICC has cautioned against the ICC Court's giving any instructions to arbitrators
applicable law, parties seek to avoid the vagaries not only of their national similar to the rule found in Article 7 of the European Economic Community Convention on the
courts, but also of national legislation. By nature a contractual institution, Law Applicable to Contractual and Non-Contractual Obligations, which provides:
the arbitral tribunal will seek to give full effect to the contract, conceivably ( 1) In the application of this Convention, effect may be given to the mandatory rules of the
even at the risk of imperiling execution of the award in the territory of one of law of any countty with which the situation has a significant connection. if and insofar as.
the parties. While Article 35 of the ICC Rules obliges the tribunal to use every under the law of that country, those rules must be applied whatever the law applicable to the
contract. In considering whether to give effect to these mandatoiy rules, regard shall be had
to their nature and purpose and to the consequences of their application or non-application.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (I) of this Article shall restrict the application of the rules of ~e
67 Toprak Mahsulleri Ofisi (Turkey) v. finagrain (Switzerland), arbitration award of the Grain and law of the forum in a situation where they are mandatoiy irrespective of the law othefWISe
feed Trade Association (GAFTA) dated April 29, 1977: the award became a matter of public re- applicable to the contracL
cord in the course of judicial review in the English courts,(! 979] 2 U.ovo·s L. REP. 98 (Court of There are at present no ICC directives or guidelines on conflict of law principles to be applied by
Appeal. 26 January 1979). arbitrators, nor is it expected that there will be any in the near future.

340 341
§ 17.04
-
CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.04

tion of arbitration, and no future disputes clause could substitute a pri- dustries. Swiss law was stipulated as applicable, and arbitration was to be
vate judge for a public judge in order to resolve a dispute which involves held in Japan. Faced with arbitration in Japan before three Japanese arbitra-
public policy in se and per se. tors, and a claim that it had failed to take contractual deliveries, the distribu-
On the other hand, in a contractual dispute. if one party raises as a de- tor counterclaimed by alleging a conspiracy to divide markets and to restrain
fense the nullity of the agreement upon which the other party bases his trade in violation of the Sherman Act. Such a claim, it further argued, could
suit, the arbitrator has a duty under Article 85 of the Treaty of Rome to not be decided by arbitrators.
determine whether the factual and legal conditions which give rise to the The Supreme Court disagreed. Without going into the details of a much- com-
application of the said article are met in the agreement. 69 mented decision. one might simply describe the Mitsubishi policy as letting
The power of the arbitrator to rule on the effect of competition laws at the international arbitrators proceed to arbitrate all issues of a dispute even if
place of performance even where the parties have agreed that the proper law they involve claims under U.S. law that purport to affect the validity of con-
of the contract is governed by the law of a third country (e.g. Swiss proper law tractual provisions. This policy sees national courts limiting their involve-
in respect to the competition law of the European Union or the United States) ment to an a posteriori control of any awards presented for enforcement in
is now beyond doubt. Few ICC tribunals today would deny that they have the their jurisdiction by the criteria of their public policy.
power to decide the effect of such mandatory terms of competition law on the In a few lines of the majority opinion in Mitsubishi, dictum was offered to the
rights and obligations of the parties to the contract who have submitted a dis- effect that the courts would have the opportunity to exercise their control
pute to them (e.g. nullity, breach, damages, termination).70 As early as t 975 function at the time of enforcement of the award:
a Swiss court had confirmed in respect to an ICC arbitration that an arbitrator
had jurisdiction to consider whether the alleged violation of Article 85 of the the national courts of the United States will have the opportunity at the
award enforcement stage to ensure that the legitimate interest in the en-
Treaty of Rome by the contract in arbitration rendered that contract null.71
forcement of antitrust laws has been addressed ... [and] to ascertain
Moreover, where national courts recognize that the effects of public policy is-
that the [arbitral] tribunal took cognizance of the antitrust claims and
sues defined by mandatory provisions of law are arbitrable the consequences
must be taken into account by arbitrators. actually decided them.
The Mitsubishi dictum (sometimes called the "second-look doctrine") sug-
The extension of the domain of arbitrable issues (see general/y Section 5.07)
gests that it is now understood that international arbitrators have not only
has a direct and complicating effect on the law to be applied by international
the right but the duty to examine the effect of mandatory legislation foreign
arbitrators. To put iC in its simplest terms, when country A decides that its
to the law chosen by the parties and the law of the place of arbitration. This
mandatory laws may be applied by arbitrators deciding a dispute under a con-
also seems to be what national courts at the seat of arbitration have con-
tract otherwise governed by the laws of country B, the arbitral tribunal's task
cluded. For instance, in G. SA v.SpA 73 the Swiss Federal Tribunal set aside an
takes on an entirely new dimension.
award and remitted it to the arbitral tribunal for having failed to exercise its
In Mitsubishi v. Soler Motors, 12 the U.S. Supreme Court held that a counter- jurisdiction to determine whether the contract in question (a cooperation
claim in arbitration that raised issues of U.S. antitrust law was subject to the agreement between Belgian and Italian companies) complied with the o~lig~­
jurisdiction of the arbitrators designated in the contract. The contract (an au- tions of the parties under Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty of Rome. While m
tomobile distributorship agreement) was between a U.S. distributor and a that case the proper law of the contract was the law of Belgium, all indica-
Swiss joint venture subsidiary of Chrysler Motors and Mitsubishi Heavy In- tions are that the result would have been the same even if the proper law was
the law of Switzerland or one of its cantons. 74 The same duty is recognized in
other jurisdictions. 75
69 ICC Case 1397/1966. extracts in 1974 JOI 878. See also ICC case 2811of1978, extracts in 1979
JDI 983; and generally Section 5.07.
70 See ICC Awards on Arbitracion and European CommunifY Law, 5 ICC Buu.. 44 (November 1994);
6 ICC BULL 52 (May 1995); Dossieis of the ICC Institute, COMPETITION AND ARBITRATION U..w
( 1993); Special Supplement, Internacional Commercial Arbitracion in Europe, ICC Publication 73 7'ribunalJtfdt'ral Suisse, 28 April 1992, ATF 11811193.
Number 537. (1994) pp. 33-57. 74 See M. Blessing. Impact efMandatory Rules, Sanctions, Competition Law in INTRODumoN TO AR·
71 Chambre de recours, Vaud, 28 October 1975, Ampaglas v. Sofia, 129 JOURNAL DES TRIBUNAUX. BITRATION-SWISS AND lffl"ERNATIONAL PERSPEmVES 24 7 (Swiss Commercial Law Series, Helbing
1981-111-71. & Lichtenhahn 1999).
72 473 U.S. 614 (1985). The Mitsubishi decision is discussed in detail in Sections 34.02(vi), and 75 See e.g. Cour d'appel. Paris, 19 May 1993, Societe Labinal C/ Societes Mais et Westland Aero-
34.04. space. note Charles Jarrosson. 1993 REV. ARB. 645.

342 343
 § 17.04
-
CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW § 17.04

tion of arbitration, and no future disputes clause could substitute a pri- dustries. Swiss Jaw was stipulated as applicable, and arbitration was to be
vate judge for a public judge in order to resolve a dispute which involves held in Japan. Faced with arbitration in Japan before three Japanese arbitra-
public policy in se and per se. tors, and a claim that it had failed to take contractual deliveries, the distribu-
On the other hand. in a contractual dispute, if one party raises as a de- tor counterclaimed by alleging a conspiracy to divide markets and to restrain
fense the nullity of the agreement upon which the other party bases his trade in violation of the Sherman Act. Such a claim, it further argued, could
suit, the arbitrator has a duty under Article 85 of the Treaty of Rome to not be decided by arbitrators.
determine whether the factual and legal conditions which give rise to the The supreme Court disagreed. Without going into the details of a much- com-
application of the said article are met in the agreement. 69 mented decision, one might simply describe the Mitsubishi policy as letting
The power of the arbitrator to rule on the effect of competition laws at the international arbitrators proceed to arbitrate all issues of a dispute even if
place of performance even where the parties have agreed that the proper law they involve claims under U.S. law that purport to affect the validity of con-
of the contract is governed by the law of a third country (e.g. Swiss proper law tractual provisions. This policy sees national courts limiting their involve-
in respect to the competition law of the European Union or the United States) ment to an a posteriori control of any awards presented for enforcement in
is now beyond doubt. Few ICC tribunals today would deny that they have the their jurisdiction by the criteria of their public policy.
power to decide the effect of such mandatory terms of competition law on the In a few lines of the majority opinion in Mitsubishi, dictum was offered to the
rights and obligations of the parties to the contract who have submitted a dis- effect that the courts would have the opportunity to exercise their control
pute to them (e.g. nullity, breach, damages, termination) JO As early as 1975 function at the time of enforcement of the award:
a Swiss court had confirmed in respect to an ICC arbitration that an arbitrator
had jurisdiction to consider whether the alleged violation of Article 85 of the the national courts of the United States will have the opportunity at the
Treaty of Rome by the contract in arbitration rendered that contract null.71 award enforcement stage to ensure that the legitimate interest in the en-
Moreover, where national courts recognize that the effects of public policy is- forcement of antitrust Jaws has been addressed ... [and] to ascertain
sues defined by mandatory provisions oflaw are arbitrable the consequences that the [arbitral] tribunal took cognizance of the antitrust claims and
must be taken into account by arbitrators. actually decided them.
The extension of the domain of arbitrable issues (see general{y Section 5.07) The Mitsubishi dictum (sometimes called the "second-look doctrine") sug-
has a direct and complicating effect on the law to be applied by international gests that it is now understood that international arbitrators have not only
arbitrators. To put it in its simplest terms, when country A decides that its the right but the duty to examine the effect of mandatory legislation foreign
mandatory laws may be applied by arbitrators deciding a dispute under a con- to the Jaw chosen by the parties and the law of the place of arbitration. This
tract otherwise governed by the laws of country B. the arbitral tribunal's task also seems to be what national courts at the seat of arbitration have con-
takes on an entirely new dimension. cluded. For instance. in G. SA v.SpA 73 the Swiss Federal Tribunal set aside an
award and remitted it to the arbitral tribunal for having failed to exercise its
In Mitsubishi v. Soler Motors,72 the U.S. Supreme Court held that a counter- jurisdiction to determine whether the contract in question (a cooperation
claim in arbitration that raised issues of U.S. antitrust law was subject to the agreement between Belgian and Italian companies) complied with the o~lig~­
jurisdiction of the arbitrators designated in the contract. The contract (an au- tions of the parties under Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty of Rome. Whtie m
tomobile distributorship agreement) was between a U.S. distributor and a that case the proper Jaw of the contract was the law of Belgium, all indica-
Swiss joint venture subsidiary of Chrysler Motors and Mitsubishi Heavy In- tions are that the result would have been the same even if the proper law was
the law of Switzerland or one of its cantons. 74 The same duty is recognized in
other jurisdictions. 75
69 ICC case 1397/1966, extracts in 1974 )DI 878. See also ICC case 2811 of 1978. extracrs in 1979
JOI 983; and generally Section 5.07.
70 See ICC A wants on Arbitration and European Communi!Y Law, 5 ICC BULL. 44 (November 1994);
6 ICC BULL 52 (May 1995); Dossiers of the ICC Institute, COMPETITION AND ARBITRATION I.AW
(1993); Special Supplement, International Commercial Arbitration in Europe, ICC Publkation 73 Tribuna!Jederal Suisse, 28 April 1992. ATF 11811193.
Number537, (1994) pp. 33-57.
74 See M. Blessing. Impact ifMandatory Rules. Sanctions. Competition Law in INTRODUCTION TO AR-
71 Chambre de recours. Vaud, 28 October 1975. Ampaglas v. Sofia, 129 JOURNAL DES TRIBUNAUX, BITRATION-SWISS AND l1''TERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 24 7 (Swiss Commercial Law Series, Helbing
198 J.111-71. & Lichtenhahn 1999).
72 473 U.S. 614 (1985). TheMitsubis"hideeision is discussed in detail in Sections 34.02(vt), and 75 see e.g. Cour d"appel. Paris, 19 May 1993. Societe Labinal cJ Societes Mars et Westland Aero-
34.04. space. note Charles farrosson. 1993 REV. ARB. 645.

342 343
§ 17.04 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE IAW § 17.04

While competition laws may present the most frequent occasions for arbitra- tract was obtained, the British company denied any obligation to pay, and ICC
tors to have to consider the effect of mandatory public laws on a contract arbitration ensued. Neither party raised the issue of alleged illegality as a de-
which has been specifically agreed by the parties to be governed by another fense and both wished for the arbitration to proceed. Nevertheless, the sole
law, there are others. What, for instance, is the effect of the agreement be- arbitrator determined that he could not take jurisdiction over the case in view
tween a foreign manufacturer and its local distributor subjecting their distri- of clear violations of good morals and international public policy. His reason-
bution agreement to a third country's laws and a neutral place of arbitration ing was, inter alia:
on highly protective local legislation providing substantial indemnities for Parties who involve themselves in an enterprise of the present nature
the distributor upon termination or non-renewal of distribution rights?76 must realize that they have forfeited any right to ask for the assistance
Other examples involve exchange controls (as previously noted) and the ef- of the machinery of justice (national courts or arbitral tribunals) in set-
fect on contracts of import and export restrictions. the United States Trading tling their dispute. 79
With The Enemy Act, and the interdiction of commerce and assets freeze or- More modem arbitral awards do not consider the claim of bribery (or the pres-
ders edicted under United Nations or national (frequently U.S.) authority. In - ence of bribery, even when not raised as a defense) as a jurisdictional issue.
all these cases the arbitrator will have to deal with the contract at hand, the Most arbitrators would consider the issue of bribery as a defense to the en-
law applicable to the contract, the law of the place of performance and the forcement of the contract, or a cause for the nullity of the contract. The issue
law of the place of arbitration (vis where the award may be subject to judicial of bribery and of the relevance and application of laws and regulations on
review) and the reasonable and legitimate expectations of the parties (they commissions on government contracts have been considered in a number of
must have intended some consequences of choosing a law which is not that ICC awards. 80 A distinction is made in a number of the cases between bribery,
of the place of performance, and a neutral place of arbitration). The arbitra- which is surely an infringement of international public policy, and failure to
tors will also have to take into account notions of international public policy. respect foreign procurement regulations, with respect to which the
As Professor Pierre Mayer has put it: consequences may depend on the circumstances. 81 The issue of whether in-
Although arbitrators are neither guardians of the public order nor in-
vested by the State with a mission of applying its mandatory rules, they
ought nevertheless to have an incentive to do so out of a sense of duty to 79 For a discussion of this and more recent cases. see A. El Kosheri and P. Leboulanger. l 'arbitre
Jace ala corruption ec aux tr'!fics d"i'!fluence, 1984 REV. ARB. 3. The issue of corruption raises
the survival of international arbitration as an institution. 77 difficult issues of proof; comp. ICC case 3916/1983, extracts in id.. at 9-10 (claim for commis-
While in many cases the conflict between public policy considerations and the sions rejecied) with ICC case 4145/1984, extracts in XII YEARBOOK 97, at 100-107 (1987) (claim
for commissions upheld), see Jose Rosell and Harvey Prager, !llicic Commissions and Intcma-
terms of the parties' agreement poses difficult questions, the issue of bribery tional Arbitration: 7heQuestion efProoJ. 15 ARB. INT. 329 (1999) (containing a detailed analysis
is simple. International commercial arbitration may not permit itself to be- of several ICC awards on the subject).
come an instrument of, and accomplice to, bribery. In a well-known ICC 80 See e.g. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Bums & Roe Enterprise, Inc. V. National Power Corp. and
award rendered in 1963, a Swedish sole arbitrator sitting in France held that The Republic of the Philippines, ICC Arbitration No. 6401, Preliminary Award of 19 December
a contract which contemplated the making of illegal payments could not be 1991. 7 MEALEY"SINT.ARB. REP.; Bl Qanuary 1992). pp. 721-737;seegenera/{yl.ESCOMMISSIONS
ILUCm:s (Paris. ICC Publishing, 1992).
enforced in international arbitration.78 In that case, an Argentine national
81 The difficulties in the appreciation of these circumstances is illustrated by the OTVv. Hilmarton
had intervened on behalf of a British company to obtain a contract with the matter where the award by arbitrators in Switzerland finding a commission agreement unen-
Argentine government by means other than having the best or lowest tender. forceable because conuary to public policy was annulled by Swiss Couns (Tribunal Jedhal
He was to receive 10% of the contract price for his services, out of which he suisse, 17 April 1990.1993 REV. ARB. 315) but nevertheless recognized in France (Courd'appel,
Paris. 19 December 1991, 1993 REV. ARB. 300).
was to make selected payments to high government officials. After the con-
A second arbitration award rendered after the Swiss court's nullification of the first enforced the
commission agreement but the award was denied recognition in France (Courde cassation, 10
June 1997, 1997 REV. ARB. 376, note P. Fouchard) while it was recognized in England (Omnium
76 See ICC Arbitration No. 6379/1990, 1992 YEARBOOK212 (award did not apply the Belgian regula- de Traitement et de Valorisation S.A. v. Hilmarton Limited, Q.B. Div .• 24 May 1999); see P.
tion). Lastenouse, le contrO/e de /'Ordre Public Lors de /'Execution en Angleterre de la Seconde Sentence
Hilmarcon, 1999 REV. ARB. 867); see also ICC Arbitration No. 8891 (unpublished), and other
77 Supra note 63, at 274. cases discussed in Rosell and Prager, op. cit. note 79. at 331; see also Northrop Corp. v. Triad In-
78 ICC Case 1110/1963, excerpted and commented on by J. Lew. supra Note 1, at 553-555; see also ternational Marketing. 81tF.2d 1265 (9th Cir. 1987), a decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court
J. Gillis Wetter, Issues efCorruption Before Internacional Arbitra/ Tribunals: The Authentic Text of Appeals upholding an MA award granting commissions under a contract governed by cali-
and True Meaning iffudge Gunnar Lagergren 's 1963 Award in ICC Case No. J II O. 10 ARB. INT. fomia law, the court refusing to accept that there was a ·well-defined and dominant" public pol-
277 (1994). icy against enforcement of contracts for commissions in military sales to Saudi Arabia.

344 345
§ 17.04 CHOICE OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW

temational public policy trumps the agreement of the parties is particularly

difficult where neither of the parties has brought out the possible illegality of
the agreement as part of a claim or defense. As an experienced English arbi-
trator once put it:82
Suppose I have before me a case where an agent is claiming a commis-
sion from a supplier, expressed to be payable in the event that the sup-
CHAPTER 18
plier obtains a certain contract in a certain developing country. Suppose
I begin to notice that both parties are carefully skating round the area of
what the agent was actually supposed to do to earn his commission. "AMIABLE COMPOSITION"
Should I press them on it? Could it be that the reason why they have
gone to arbitration rather than to law is precisely because that is an area
they would prefer not co discuss in public? Of course, if! had positive ev-
idence that the agent was supposed to bribe the Minister-or even just to
encase the Minister's wife in expensive furs and jewels-I would be
bound to dismiss the proceedings out of hand on the grounds of illegal- 18.01 Definition
ity, which is not at all what either of the parties wants me to do.
Article 17(2) of the Rules requires that the arbitrator take into account the
In a case like that, is the arbitrator the servant of the parties, or of the provisions of the contract and relevant trade usages. In the view of many ar-
truth? Whatever procedures he adopts, that is a question he can only de- bitrators. this raises the possibility. where the parties have not otherwise
cide for himself. agreed, of applying general principles of law and lex mercatoria to determine
the contractual obligations of the parties. It certainly gives rise to a procedure
significantly liberated from legalistic restraints. Nevertheless. such arbitra-
tion remains arbitration at law, and in most cases the tribunal will determine
that a national law or laws underlie the obligations of the parties. Reference
is made to such laws either as primary or supplementary sources of the tribu-
nal's decision.
A greater divergence from the rule of law may be found when the arbitrator
exercises the power of amiable composition. According to Article 17(3) of the
Rules:
The arbitral tribunal shall assume the powers of an amiable compositeur
or decide ex aequo et bona only if the parties have agreed to give it such
powers.
Such an agreement may either be contained in the original arbitration clause
or reached at the time of drafting the Terms of Reference. Irrespective of when
the parties have agreed to give the arbitrators powers co act as amiable
compositeurs, the agreement must be specifically mentioned in the Terms of
Reference (Article 18( 1)(g) of the Rules). I In light of the analysis presented in
Section 8.05, only a few general comments will be made to illustrate the con-
. crete practice of amiable composition in ICC arbitration.

see ICC Case 7301/1993. XXllI YEARBOOK 47 (1998), where the arbitral cribunal in a construction
dispute case was noc given the amiable composition power and applied Swiss law in barring a
late filed claim for defects. The tribunal stated: "Whecher an amiable compositeurs approach
82 P. Sieghart. Viewpoint, 48 ARBITRATION 133, 135 (1982). might have led to a different solution is a question which must remain open.·

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