International Commercial Arbitration

This chapter traces the development of international commercial arbitration, which is often presented as a response to the demand for law and dispute resolution created naturally by an increase in transnational commerce and investment. Indeed, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris was relatively marginal from its establishment in 1923 until the increase in global trade and commerce that came in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand naturally created the supply. Based on the recognition that this market was not inevitable, it has been argued that the rise of international commercial arbitration depended on institutional entrepreneurs around the ICC. The chapter then looks at how the relatively marginal group around the ICC that Sgard studies gained credibility and acceptance from both multinational enterprises and developing countries.