ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 explores the influence of practitioners’ legal culture on their perception and use of the same neutral (arb)-med-arb in different jurisdictions in the world. In particular, it traces the influence of the practice of the judiciary and the way disputes are resolved in a particular jurisdiction on how practitioners from that jurisdiction perceive the same neutral (arb)-med-arb and whether and how they use this process. Overall, while some civil law jurisdictions have traditionally regarded promotion of settlement as the duty of judges and arbitrators, the common law system has prohibited judges and arbitrators from being actively involved in settlement facilitation. In this context, one could contrast the inquisitorial legal traditions of Continental Europe with the adversarial approach of the Anglo-American legal system. The discussion of the East Asian approach to the resolution of disputes is commonly held in the context of contrasting the Western world that is often characterised as a litigious culture with East Asian and Arab and Islamic societies that are known for their emphasis on conciliation. It appears, however, that differences between the legal traditions and cultures are diminishing, and common-law practitioners are beginning to recognise that the roles of an arbitrator and a mediator are not fundamentally incompatible.
