A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines in International Arbitration

Professor William W. Park, R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law at the Boston University School of Law has published a thoughtful article entitled, A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines in International Arbitration, Forthcoming, 30 Arbitration International 409 (2014); Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-53. In his article, Professor Park examines the recently adopted arbitral guidelines and rules created by the International Bar Association and the London Court of International Arbitration.

Here is the abstract:

Depending on context and content, a regulatory framework can either help or hinder efforts to enhance aggregate social and economic welfare. Lively debate has arisen with respect to the net effects of two recent sets of directives for lawyer comportment in cross-border arbitration: the guidelines adopted by the International Bar Association and the new arbitration rules promulgated by the London Court of International Arbitration. Each instrument aims to promote a more level playing field on matters where legal cultures differ, such as document production and counsel independence. Each has caused thoughtful commentators to question the need and the merits of such standards. For now, suspense surrounds the prospect that either set of provisions will find favor in the international community. Only time will tell.

This and other scholarly publications authored by Professor Park may be downloaded free of charge from the Social Science Research Network.

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