Abstract:
International commercial arbitration has become the most favoured method
of dispute resolution in the international arena since it has the capability of
providing a win-win situation for the parties involved in the dispute which is
not available under ordinary litigation. However, since arbitration is a matter
of choice for the parties, the concept of party autonomy sometimes makes the
arbitration process a difficult one to be conducted with the vigor that is found
under court proceedings. One main reason for this can be seen in the multiplicity of laws that are involved in settling the dispute from the agreement to
arbitrate to enforcing the claim. This article therefore looks at the possibility
of adopting the proper law of contract to be applied throughout the process
of arbitration in settling the dispute. Using the doctrinal approach by using
international legal instruments, statues and decided case law as primary
sources and using scholarly articles and books written on the subject, the results have shown that, while being highly optimistic, such an endeavour is not
still possible since there is no single international legal document which deals
with the whole process of arbitration and in such an absence, it seems difficult at the moment to use a single system of law throughout the arbitration
process. Nevertheless, the article makes suggestions as to how such a mechanism could be implemented and the possible prospects and challenges in
making this utopia a reality.
