Mandatory Rules of Law in International Business Arbitration

Of all mankind’s adventures in search of peace and justice,arbitration is amongst the earliest. Long before law was established, orcourts were organised, or judges had formulated principles of law, man hadresorted to arbitration for the resolution of discord, the adjustment ofdifferences and the settlement of disputes.One of the recurring themes in International Business Arbitration isthe tension between the will of the parties and the ability of states ofregulate the conduct of arbitration proceedings. The general trend ininternational commercial arbitration is to respect, within limits, the will ofthe parties regarding the choice of law and the procedure for carrying outtheir arbitration. Thus, party autonomy is recognised as one of the cardinalelements of international business arbitration.