Part X Judicial Review, Judicial Performance, and Enforcement, 30 Improving Judicial Performance in Matters Involving International Arbitration

This chapter focuses on the issue of judicial competency in international arbitration. Participants in international arbitration often view national courts as the ‘weak link’ in the chain of arbitral practice and procedure. Although parties can and often do contract in advance for experienced arbitrators and efficient procedures, all of that planning and forethought can come to naught if a judge refuses to enforce an arbitration agreement or award. Recalcitrant courts are often branded as parochial, a move which suggests that the judges in question know what the proper course of action is, but simply prefer to protect national interests or parties. However, what appears to be a conscious desire to thwart the international arbitral regime could actually be nothing more than a judicial misunderstanding of a particularly complex area of law. The remainder of the chapter discusses structural and educational efforts of states to improve judicial decision-making.