Introduction

Motivated by the successes enjoyed by ADR in the private commercial setting[1] and the pedigree associated with inter-state conciliation,[2] this essay will in a preliminary way consider how "mixed" conciliation[3] might come to complement arbitration more systematically and routinely. Reference will be made to the NAFTA Chapter Eleven machinery in particular, though much of what is traversed below is relevant to investor-state arbitration in general.