Arbitration and Mediation

The private means of resolving disputes outside ordinary courts

Overview

Arbitration submits disputes to a chosen private tribunal whose award travels worldwide under the 1958 New York Convention, enforced in over 170 states, powering the international commercial and investment system centered on institutions like the ICC and SCC. Mediation, assisted negotiation, gained its own enforcement treaty in the Singapore Convention of 2019. Parties trade procedure control and confidentiality for enforceable finality. Most cross border commerce now resolves here rather than in court. Investment arbitration under bilateral treaties lets companies sue states, a controversial wing of the system.