ABSTRACT
There are no official figures available on the number of domestic arbitrations taking place in Brunei Darussalam. Lawyers in commercial practice indicated that the actual numbers of arbitrations were small, and that it was an underutilised option. The Chief Justice was in agreement64 that the numbers were small, estimating that possibly four to six disputes a year would be decided by arbitration, though two to three times that number of disputes would threaten to use arbitration as a means to bring about a settlement. Like litigation, arbitration was used as a tactic to facilitate negotiations rather than a dispute resolution process in itself. ‘There may be an Act, but people in business don’t think of it (arbitration) as a serious option’ was one lawyer’s summary of the situation.65
