CMS Guide to Arbitration - exploring national arbitration laws applicable in 30 countries

The CMS Guide to Arbitration explores the national arbitration laws applicable in 30 countries, including the leading European arbitration centres, China, the Middle East and South America.

An online version of the Guide is available here.

Arbitration is based on the consent of the parties involved to submit their dispute to arbitration. Therefore, it has been described as “privatised court proceedings”. Whereas a number of basic features are essentially similar between state court proceedings and arbitration proceedings, a significant advantage of the latter over the former is its flexibility, which is particularly useful in international disputes with parties coming from different legal backgrounds and with differing expectations.

Because of its flexibility, arbitration offers the opportunity to resolve disputes in a time and cost efficient manner. At the same time the legal framework for arbitration ensures that the fundamental principles of equal treatment and the right to be heard are protected throughout the proceedings. A further advantage of arbitration is that international arbitral awards in a large number of countries can be enforced more easily than awards rendered by state courts.

Furthermore, the parties to arbitration are free to choose their own tribunal and can appoint an arbitrator with special technical or commercial qualifications, expertise, and knowledge of the subject matter of their dispute, of the technical terminology, and of the customs of their trade. The CMS Guide to Arbitration provides a detailed overview over the law and practice of arbitration for each of the 30 jurisdictions examined.

It is a very helpful tool for clients considering or involved in arbitration proceedings. In addition to the 30 comprehensive country chapters, features of the Guide include an introduction to arbitration, a chapter devoted to investment treaty arbitration, sample arbitration clauses, a comparative table of national laws, the arbitration rules of the leading arbitral institutions, the UNCITRAL Model Law as well as useful addresses and links.