Originally from The Law and Practice of Arbitration - Fifth Edition

1. Introduction

International commercial arbitration (ICA) provides vital services to the world community. Like its domestic counterpart, it has become a legal and adjudicatory necessity. Even in recessionary times, it makes the conduct of global commerce possible. Because business transactions cannot take place without a functional system of adjudication, ICA enables parties to engage in and pursue international trade.¹ As a result, it has had an enormous impact upon the international practice of law, the structuring of a de facto international legal system,² and the development of a world law of commerce.³ In a word, ICA has been an essential factor in the creation of a transborder rule of law.⁴ In the furtherance of these achievements, the arbitral "method" has even been applied to the unruly political problems that attend the implementation of international trade policy and the pursuit of investment in host States.⁵