ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the relationship between cultural expertise and arbitration under three possible patterns: cultural considerations affecting the arbitrator, relating to the law/rules applicable to the merits and relevant to the arbitration procedure. One of the key advantages of arbitration is the possibility for the parties to choose as arbitrator the person that they find most suitable to decide their specific dispute. International commercial law is an area of law where usages and customs play a very important role. This is particularly true in sectors where the concerned trade is based on deeply rooted traditions and the majority of operators belong to the same ethnic or religious group. A perfect example of this intersection is the diamond trade. International commercial arbitration is claimed to be, in principle, detached from any specific legal system.
