Abstract

For a long time, soft commodity arbitration has been portrayed as over-simplistic and possibly archaic. Critical observations have traditionally focused on non-legal adjudicators and non-legal party representatives struggling to apply English law to the international sale of soft commodities. Some of the key features of these arbitral proceedings - arbitral panels consisting mostly of traders, the limits on party representation by legal counsels in oral hearings and the non-reimbursement of legal costs unless both parties agree - have caused great dissatisfaction to those emphasizing ...