International Commercial Arbitration Research Guide

Almost every country has enacted legislation that directly or indirectly affects the drafting of commercial arbitration agreements or the conduct of international commercial arbitration proceedings. Many nations and sub-national jurisdictions have adopted model laws drafted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), in particular:

• The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
  • Status List of jurisdictions that have enacted this model law.
• The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Mediation
  • Status List of jurisdictions that have enacted this model law.

Use the electronic and print resources described below to help you to locate the full texts of national laws related to commercial arbitration or detailed summaries of such laws.

Kluwer Arbitration
Access arbitration laws from nearly 100 jurisdictions, some of which are available in both their original language and in unofficial English translations.  To search by country, click on the white triangle to the left of the search box and select "Legislation" as the Content Type.  Then check the box next to the desired jurisdiction. To browse, click on the "Jurisdictions" tab in the center of the homepage and select the desired jurisdiction from the alphabetical list.

ICC Dispute Resolution Library (shared user name and password)
This International Chamber of Commerce database includes a Guide to National Procedures for the Recognition of Awards Under the New York Convention, which provides information about statutes of limitations and procedural rules governing evidentiary requirements, stays of enforcement, and related matters.  To access this content, scroll down to the Contents menu on the lower right-hand side of the homepage, select "Enforcement Guide," and then select the desired jurisdiction after the page refreshes.

The Foreign Law Guide
This subscription database covers almost all jurisdictions outside the U.S.  Under the heading "Laws by Subject" select "Arbitration & Mediation" as the category.  Then scroll down to select the desired jurisdiction. In some cases, you will find direct links to electronic versions of relevant laws.  In other cases, only citations to print sources are provided.

Getting the Deal Through (GTDT)
This multi-jurisdictional resource offers in-depth, practitioner-written summaries of national laws governing international arbitration in more than 40 jurisdictions using a question and answer format.  Begin by selecting Dispute Resolution as the work area from the menu.  Then select Arbitration as the topic and the desired jurisdiction.  Select tow or more jurisdictions to compare laws across multiple jurisdictions.

International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration 
This e-book on the Kluwer Arbitration platform provides an overview of arbitration law and practice in more than 70 jurisdictions.  Relevant laws are reproduced in full text.  For non-English speaking jurisdictions, laws are provided in unofficial English translations, not in their original languages.

Transnational Dispute Management (TDM)
TDM's database of arbitration laws covers dozens of jurisdictions. Some are available in their original language.  Others are provided in unofficial English translations.  To access them, go to the "Legal and Regulatory Docs" tab and click on "Search."  Then scroll down to access the Advanced Search template.  Select "Laws & Regulations" as the Category and choose the desired country from the menu.

Westlaw offers the following resources:

• International Arbitration Legislation
  This database covers the following jurisdictions:  the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the U.K.
   
• Comparative Law of International Arbitration
  This e-book is an updated version of the print resource described in the column to the right.  It covers the following European jurisdictions:  Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the U.K.