ABSTRACT
The practice of international arbitration in the East Asian region provides a unique window into the impact of globalization on regional arbitral practice. The fi rst of the four methods used to explore whether and how diversity and globalization infl uence the practice of international arbitration in East Asia is a four-part survey. The principal fi nding of the survey is that because of the fl exible structure of international arbitration based on a Model Law system which allows countries to opt in or out of particular provisions, procedural variation pertaining to differing preferences for conciliatory or adjudicatory approaches to arbitration can coexist with a relatively high level of substantive legal uniformity across regions. On the one hand, the fi ndings suggest that in general there is growing convergence of perspectives regarding the practice of arbitration worldwide. In particular, arbitration practices rooted in widely held international legal agreement tend to exhibit the greatest openness to international harmonization throughout the various regions. This is refl ected in a high level of uniformity within survey data pertaining to the reasons why arbitration is selected, and particular barriers and factors infl uencing settlement in the context of arbitration. On the other hand, the fi ndings indicate that in some key areas, distinction can be seen with respect to aspects of international arbitration such as the integration of settlement attempts into arbitration proceedings and the degree of openness to exploring settlement options in East Asia.
