ABSTRACT
An arbitral tribunal must decide the parties’ dispute by applying the law applicable to that dispute, even if it dislikes the result that the law produces. People new to arbitration often view arbitration as an informal alternative to court litigation, which allows parties to avoid the technicalities of legal rules and concentrate instead on developing a procedure that matches their specific needs and preferences. To understand the relationship between arbitration and the law, it is useful to start from the distinction between “substance” and “procedure”. The idea of the “seat” of an arbitration is one of the most surprising aspects of arbitration to anyone new to the subject. The notion of an arbitral “seat” derives from the fact that although arbitration is a private mechanism of dispute resolution, it relies for its success on the willingness of States to support arbitrations as they are occurring, and to enforce arbitral awards when they are delivered.
