Introduction: Arbitration Law Over Borders Comparative Guide 2025
Arbitration remains a cornerstone of international dispute resolution, evolving to address the complexities of global commerce and investment. The 2025 edition of this volume provides an updated examination of arbitration laws and practices across 17 key jurisdictions: Benin, Canada, China, England and Wales, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the United States and Vietnam. With insight from expert local practitioners, it reflects the latest legislative changes, judicial attitudes, common practices and institutional developments influencing the arbitration landscape worldwide.
Many jurisdictions continue to align their arbitration frameworks with international best practices, particularly the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law. While the most established arbitration-friendly jurisdictions remain strong arbitration hubs, various others have recently undertaken reforms to facilitate the procedure of arbitration and the enforceability of arbitral awards. Arbitral institutions continue to proliferate and gain credibility, offering modernised rules and often a regional focus.
The role of domestic courts in arbitration varies significantly across borders. Established arbitration-friendly jurisdictions continue to uphold a pro-arbitration stance, ensuring minimal judicial interference and facilitating enforcement, while newer players, such as the Gulf States, are demonstrating increasing support for arbitration by establishing specialised courts to oversee enforcement or enacting new enforcement laws. Conversely, national courts in other jurisdictions continue to present challenges in terms of judicial intervention impacting arbitral proceedings or award enforcement, although efforts are being made in many jurisdictions to align enforcement mechanisms with international standards in accordance with the New York Convention.
Discussions on third-party funding continue to gain traction in several jurisdictions, although third-party funding remains unregulated in many. Regulatory and legislative changes may be around the corner for some. In others, specific legal and regulatory regimes apply. The post-pandemic era continues to solidify the role of technology in arbitration. Virtual hearings and digital submissions are now standard practice in leading arbitration centres, while the appropriateness of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in aiming to increase arbitral efficiency is hotly debated. Meanwhile, the application of international principles of State immunity, on issues of jurisdiction and execution, is nuanced and varied across different countries’ courts.
This guide provides a detailed and structured exposition of the key features of arbitration law and practice across numerous jurisdictions in a convenient reference format. As the global arbitration landscape continues to evolve, balancing harmonisation with jurisdiction-specific adaptations, it is hoped that the 2025 edition of this guide will provide practitioners, in-house counsel, and arbitrators with an essential reference tool comprising insights into the legal frameworks governing arbitration across an ever-increasing number of arbitration-friendly jurisdictions worldwide.
Ahmed Abdel Hakam
Gunjan Sharma
Robert G Volterra
