Avoiding The Costs Of International Commercial Arbitration: Is Mediation The Solution?

Abstract

Advocates of mediation claim that mediation is a more cost-effective and time-efficient process than arbitration to resolve international disputes. This chapter tests that statement, attempts to confirm whether international mediation is useful to corporations, inquires on whether it is growing as the international resolution method of choice, and considers the reasons behind that growth. Mediation has spread in the United States with the introduction of court-mandated mediation, there has been a sea-change in England on how alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is used since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 19993 and there have been similar experiences in other common law jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The chapter examines whether mediation has grown and overtaken arbitration as the dispute resolution method of choice in the international marketplace. Finally, mediation is proving to be a very good international dispute resolution tool for multinational corporations. Keywords: alternative dispute resolution (ADR); arbitration; international disputes; international marketplace; international mediation; international resolution; multinational corporations; United States