ABSTRACT
International commercial arbitration (ICA), as proposed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), was established by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966 ‘to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law’. The UN commission prepared a model law on ICA, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 21 June 1985, and was recommended for adoption as the UNCITRAL Model Law (ML) on ICA. Although the ML was not binding, the UN recommended its adoption and incorporation into the domestic law of individual member states. The ML was intended to promote the adoption of arbitration as an alternative to litigation to resolve commercial disputes in cross-border contexts, and was also meant to lead to the integration of the processes and procedures across legal systems. It is interesting to note that participants in most ICA cases often come from different linguistic, ethnic, cultural, jurisdictional and even technical backgrounds, speaking different languages.
