Introduction

We are pleased to present this special issue of Transnational Dispute Management, containing about a dozen papers covering various international arbitration topics.

Those papers were written for the 7^th Biennial Symposium on International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution organized by the Center for International Legal Studies and held in Salzburg in May 2012. Those papers reflect only part of the Symposium. Over the course of three days at the magnificent Schloss Leopoldskron there were approximately 40 presentations and important input from the discussion amongst participants, thanks to the high level of expertise of those attending.

To meet the expectations of the users, international arbitration should be a process both flexible and predictable. With that in mind, it is important for practitioners to discuss, to have a fair picture of the existing situation and to work together towards improving points of weakness and meeting the many challenges ahead. The following papers, like the CILS Symposium, are part of this collective task, aimed at forging a common view on topical issues and a better understanding of the global landscape.

Those papers cover various topics, from Investment Arbitration (Prof. S.I. Strong, Mark N. Bravin and Alex B. Kaplan, Ieva Kalnina), to Mediation (Mauro Rubino-Sammartano), through a range of basic, practical and complex issues such as Interim Relief (Sumeet Kachwaha, Prof. Marianne Roth and Claudia Reith), Arbitrator Challenges (Prof. Margaret L. Moses), Security for Costs (Joe Tirado and Max Stein), Set-Off and Counterclaims (Guido Carducci), Data Center Disputes (Walt Sapronov) and Enforcement of Awards in selected countries (Katarína Chovancová and Clarisse von Wunschheim).

We wish to thank the Center for International Legal Studies and its dynamic officers, Manuela Wedam and Christian Campbell, for the organization and administrative work, in preparing the Symposium and in assembling the papers for this special TDM issue.

We hope that readers will find in these articles matters of interest, possibly useful for their practice, with perhaps controversial proposals to consider. We encourage all to continue the debate, with the aim to foster the growth and continued improvement of international arbitration.