Contract Law In International Commercial Arbitration

The vast bulk of claims in international commercial arbitration are contractual in nature. Viewed through that lens, what comes to occupy centre stage in the arbitration of disputes is the choice of applicable contract law. This book breaks new ground by for the first time focusing in depth on the contract law chosen by the parties to be applied to disputes. The author uses a comparative-inductive methodology to analyse why – according to statistics of the International Chamber of Commerce – English, New York, and Swiss contract law outperform transnational and other contract law regimes in the choice-of-law provision of business contracts. He finds that these three bodies of law share a firm commitment to enforcing the contract as written, thus prioritizing certainty, stability, and predictability, and clearly recognizing the parties’ right to determine for themselves (and have arbitrators and courts respect) central issues such as risk allocation and price. Starting from a detailed comparative examination of traditional and contemporary theories of contract, the author develops a minimalist approach that is acceptable to lawyers with a civil or common law background and that facilitates dealmaking by providing a clear set of hard-edged rules in four areas – formation of contracts, invalidity and public policy, contract interpretation, and damages for breach – and showing how each of the three contract regimes that are dominant in practice manifests his approach. With its emphasis on pragmatic adjudication grounded on facts and consequences rather than on conceptualisms and generalities, the book greatly enhances the ability of arbitrators to make decisions based on legal arguments that fit the setting of international commercial arbitration. It is sure to become established as a tool to achieve the defined objective of facilitating cross-border commercial transactions as well as providing arbitrators with a set of rules for the interpretation of contractual provisions and the quantification of damages. ‘Peter Sester confronts the reality that disputes in commercial arbitration are overwhelmingly contract-based, and properly directs our attention away from the contract by which the parties agreed to arbitrate to the contract by reference to which they intended their disputes to be adjudicated. This is a most welcome move and one that cannot help stimulate those whose interests are similarly situated on the frontier between the law of arbitration and the law of international contracts.’ Prof. George A. Bermann Columbia University, New York City ‘This is a book that is not only useful but also close to market expectations. ... Summing up, I would like to congratulate Peter Sester for giving us a free-market society book. He provides his readers with much food for thought and a remarkable admonition not to replace the parties’ work with public policy considerations.’ Prof. Dr Peter Nobel Emeritus Universities St. Gallen and Zurich, Switzerland

The vast bulk of claims in international commercial arbitration are contractual in nature. Viewed through that lens, what comes to occupy centre stage in the arbitration of disputes is the choice of applicable contract law. This book breaks new ground by for the first time focusing in depth on the contract law chosen by the parties to be applied to disputes. The author uses a comparative-inductive methodology to analyse why - according to statistics of the International Chamber of Commerce - English, New York, and Swiss contract law outperform transnational and other contract law regimes in the choice-of-law provision of business contracts. He finds that these three bodies of law share a firm commitment to enforcing the contract as written, thus prioritizing certainty, stability, and predictability, and clearly recognizing the parties' right to determine for themselves (and have arbitrators and courts respect) central issues such as risk allocation and price. Starting from a detailed comparative examination of traditional and contemporary theories of contract, the author develops a minimalist approach that is acceptable to lawyers with a civil or common law background and that facilitates dealmaking by providing a clear set of hard-edged rules in four areas - formation of contracts, invalidity and public policy, contract interpretation, and damages for breach - and showing how each of the three contract regimes that are dominant in practice manifests his approach. With its emphasis on pragmatic adjudication grounded on facts and consequences rather than on conceptualisms and generalities, the book greatly enhances the ability of arbitrators to make decisions based on legal arguments that fit the setting of international commercial arbitration. It is sure to become established as a tool to achieve the defined objective of facilitating cross-border commercial transactions as well as providing arbitrators with a set of rules for the interpretation of contractual provisions and the quantification of damages. 'Peter Sester confronts the reality that disputes in commercial arbitration are overwhelmingly contract-based, and properly directs our attention away from the contract by which the parties agreed to arbitrate to the contract by reference to which they intended their disputes to be adjudicated. This is a most welcome move and one that cannot help stimulate those whose interests are similarly situated on the frontier between the law of arbitration and the law of international contracts.' Prof. George A. Bermann Columbia University, New York City 'This is a book that is not only useful but also close to market expectations. ... Summing up, I would like to congratulate Peter Sester for giving us a free-market society book. He provides his readers with much food for thought and a remarkable admonition not to replace the parties' work with public policy considerations.' Prof. Dr Peter Nobel Emeritus Universities St. Gallen and Zurich, Switzerland

The book verifies the impact of national law and transnational rules on international contracts, particularly those with an arbitration clause.

The growth of national economic regulation and the process of globalisation increasingly expose international transactions to an array of regulations from different jurisdictions. These developments often contribute to widespread international contractual failures when parties claim the incompatibility of their contractual obligations with regulatory laws. The author challenges conventional means of dispute resolution and argues for an interdisciplinary approach whereby disciplines such as international economic law, conflict of laws, contract law and economic regulations are functionally united to resolve international and multifaceted regulatory disputes. He identifies the normative foundation of contract law as an important determinant in this process, contending that contract law is essentially neutral and underpinned by the concept of corrective justice, while economic regulations are mainly prompted by distributive justice. Applying this corrective/distributive justice dichotomy to international contracts, the author critically assesses major conflict of laws approaches such as `proper law', `the Rome Convention' and `governmental interest analysis', which could disregard either public interest or private rights. The author, taking these theories into account, proposes an alternative two-dimensional interest analysis approach. He tests the viability of this approach with reference to arbitral awards and court decisions in various jurisdictions and concludes that it uniquely fits into the structure of international commercial arbitration. In adopting this approach arbitrators would take into account both corrective and distributive justice, and to the extent that corrective justice prevails, would be able to avert a total failure of the contract.

This book provides a systematic presentation of the most important commercial contracts under Swiss law, i.e., the contract of sale, the contract for work and services, the simple mandate contract, and the commercial agency contract, as well as the licence agreement, the exclusive distribution agreement, and the settlement agreement. The book also contains an in-depth introduction of the Swiss law of obligations, covering topics such as the fundamental principles of contract law, the obligation (as the effect of the contract), the formation of contracts, contract interpretation, validity of contracts, agency, general terms and conditions, and breach of contract. After English law, Swiss law is deemed to be the most attractive law applicable to the parties' contract in an international context. At the same time, English is usually chosen as the language of the arbitration proceedings. This book will therefore be an indispensable resource for all English-speaking lawyers interested in international commercial arbitration.

This book examines the formation, nature and effect of the arbitratorsâe(tm) contract, addressing topics such as the appointment, challenge, removal and duties and rights of arbitrators, disputing parties and arbitration institutions. The arguments made in the book are based on a semi-autonomous theory of the juridical nature of international arbitration and a contractual theory of the legal nature of these relationships. From these premises, the book analyses the formation of the arbitratorâe(tm)s contract in both ad hoc and institutional references. It also examines the institutionâe(tm)s contract with the disputing parties and its effect on the arbitratorâe(tm)s contract under institutional references. The book draws from national arbitration laws and institutional rules in various jurisdictions to give a global view of the issues examined in it. The arbitratorâe(tm)s contract is analysed from a global perspective of arbitral law and practice with insights from various jurisdictions in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. The primary focus of the book is an analysis of the formation of the arbitratorâe(tm)s contract and the terms of this contract and the institutionâe(tm)s contract. The primary question of the consequences (if any) of the breaches of the terms of these contracts and its impact on the exclusion or limitation of liability of arbitrators and institutions is also analysed with the conclusion that since these transactions are contractual and the terms can be categorised as in any normal contract, then normal contractual remedies can be applied to the breaches of these terms. International Commercial Arbitration and the Arbitratorâe(tm)s Contract will be of great value to arbitration practitioners and researchers in arbitration. It will also be very useful to students of arbitration on the topics of arbitrators and arbitration institution.

Verifies the impact of national law and transnational rules on international contracts, particularly those with an arbitration clause.

Precise planning, drafting and vigorous negotiation lie at the heart of every international commercial agreement. But as the international business community moves toward the third decade of the twenty-first century, a large amount of the detail of these agreements has migrated to the Internet and has become part of electronic commerce. This incomparable one-volume work, now in its seventh edition, begins by discussing and analyzing all the basic components of international contracts regardless of whether the contracting parties are interacting face-to-face or dealing electronically at some distance from each other. The work stands alone among contract drafting guides and has proven its enduring worth. Using an established and highly practical format, the book offers precise information and analysis of a wide variety of issues and forms of agreement, as well as the various forms of international commercial dispute resolution. The seventh edition includes new and updated material on a large number of issues and concepts, such as: new developments and technical progress in electronic commerce; the use of concepts of standardization, i.e., the work of the International Organization for Standardization as a contract drafting tool; new developments in artificial intelligence in contract drafting; the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment device; expedited arbitration, early neutral evaluation and digital procedures for dispute resolution; online dispute resolution, including the phenomenon of the “robot arbitrator”; and foreign direct investment, investment law and investor-state dispute resolution. Each chapter provides numerous references to additional sources, including websites, journal articles, and texts. Materials from and citations to appropriate literature and languages other than English are included. Recognizing that business executives entering into an international commercial transaction are mainly interested in drafting and negotiating an agreement that satisfies all of the parties and that will be performed as promised, this superb guide will measurably assist any lawyer or business executive in planning and implementing contracts and resolving disputes even when that person is not interested in a full-blown understanding of the entire landscape of international contracts. Business executives who are not lawyers will find that this book gives them the understanding and perspective necessary to work effectively with legal experts.