Introduction

The problem of applicable law in international arbitration has always been far more persistent in the investment rather than its commercial dimension. Indeed, the tumultuous oil arbitrations of the 1950s not only highlighted the naivety by which choice of law clauses were drafted in investment contracts but also the political, ethical and legal conundrums faced by arbitrators called upon to settle disputes involving choice of law clauses encompassing a maze of national laws, international law, religious norms and obscure trade usages. These times are long gone but they left a ...