Abstract
Arbitration has long been the preferred method of resolving commercialdisputes as, at its best, it is both cheaper and quicker than litigation. But by
the 1980s many international commercial arbitration cases were proving so
slow and expensive that its advantages were being questioned. At this time
several approaches were tried to make arbitration faster and cheaper. ‘Fasttrack
arbitration’ was one of these new approaches. In the last 25 years fasttrack
arbitration has become “institutionalized”, as an increasing number of
institutions have enacted specific sets of expedited rules. Despite this trend,
there is still uncertainty over whether fast-track procedures can become a
viable alternative to conventional international arbitration. With more than 25
years of practical application of FTA to look at, it is time to ask the question
which forms the title of this thesis: Is there a scope for the wider application of
fast-track arbitrations in the resolution of international commercial disputes?
In order to find an answer, this thesis looks at the development of regular
arbitration and why it changed from a swift and economic method of solving
disputes into the cumbersome and unpopular method of the 1980s. We will
then consider the various attempts that were made to improve the situation,
culminating in the development of international fast-track commercial
arbitration (IFTCA) that we see today. Having examined the defining features
of IFTCA, the thesis will be in a position to weigh the evidence on whether
there is a scope for the wider application of fast-track procedures.
| Date of Award | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Phillip Capper (Supervisor) & Eva Lomnicka (Supervisor) |