Summary

Treaty arbitration often raises fundamental issues of public interest which are usually absent from international commercial arbitration. It is said that arbitrators are not guardians of the public interest and should simply resolve the dispute inter partes without looking at the wider political and economic impact of the issues in debate. Such an approach may be appropriate in a private dispute but is that still the case when measures of democratically elected governments are reviewed for their compliance with norms of international law? The conflict between the ...