Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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The subject of this article is the current position of arbitration in the context of international dispute resolution mechanisms. The focus is on the emergence of projects to replace arbitration with international courts, in particular the European Commission’s proposal to the United States of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, and which is known in the United States as TAFTA—the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement.

Is this a justifiable proposal? And, more specifically, is it likely to succeed in its purpose?

A guide to the text drafts and background can be found on the European Commission’s website at http://bit.ly/1DwU7No.

The principal criticisms of arbitration, which are rooted in an alleged lack of transparency, lack of independence and impartiality on the part of arbitrators, relate mostly to investment arbitration, and not so much to commercial arbitration.