The Concept of lex petrolea from a Dispute Resolution Perspective: When Further Development is not Possible

Abstract

The argument has been made that there is a specialist body of law that has emerged from the practices of the international petroleum industry, a separate body of lex mercatoria, referred to as ‘ lex petrolea’. The article examines the literature on this and the supporting arguments, ultimately rejecting them, since, among other reasons, the absence of a specialist dispute resolution platform that could ensure a continuous and coherent elaboration, application and interpretation of petroleum principles and customs is sufficiently serious to undermine academic and practical development of the concept.