International Commercial Arbitration

Module One, topic three

Key legislation
International instruments:
• UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
1958 (New York Convention)
• UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules
• UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (adopted as
national law by many countries, including Australia)
Australian legislation:
International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) (enacts the New York Convention and the
UNCITRAL Model Law on ICA), as amended by International Arbitration
Amendment Act 2010 (Cth)
Arbitral organisations and institutions
International organisations:
• UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) uncitral.org
• UNIDROIT (Institut International Pour l’Unification du Droit Prive) http://www.unidroit.org/
Arbitral institutions:
• American Arbitration Association, International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR)
• Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA)
• China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC)
• Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Court of Arbitration
• London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
• Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
Determining the applicable arbitral procedure
• Lex arbitri- law of the seat- is the State law governing the arbitration. Any mandatory
provisions in the lex arbitri will “trump” the procedural rules. Not mandatory of expressed as
e/g/ “Unless otherwise agreed…”; “Subject to the agreement of the parties…”

• Procedural rules- these are regarded as representing the agreement of the parties- will apply
provided they are not inconsistent with a mandatory provision of the lex arbitri. Will not apply
if expressed as non-mandatory (“Unless otherwise agreed..”) and the actual arbitration
agreement contains inconsistent provisions.

• Arbitration agreement- the procedures set out in the agreement will apply, subject to any
mandatory provisions in the procedural rules agreed to by the parties or mandatory
provisions in the lex arbitri.
Reading

• You will now read about the regulatory framework applicable to

international commercial arbitration, and will answer some questions.