Introduction

Unlike commercial litigation, forum shopping in arbitration is more like window shopping; you stare through the glassy window at what's available and come back another day to actually sample the goods. Parties to a commercial contract with an international element choose the arbitration seat during their contractual discussions (if not, a court will, if necessary, later determine the parties' implied choice). One might suppose that all tribunals, wherever they sit, when directed to apply the same substantive law to a dispute, will reach the same decision; as we see below this may ...