Domestic Arbitration: Practice in Continental Europe and its Lessons for Arbitration in England

Abstract

ARBITRATION OF commercial disputes in the widest sense has a long history, not only in England, where already at the end of the 17th century legislation was adopted dealing with the law of arbitration, but also on the Continent. This early English legislation, as well as the venerable Arbitration Acts of 1889 and 1934, demonstrates the important role which arbitration always played in England. I have not tried to conduct the necessary research to ascertain the roots of arbitration legislation on the Continent which, however, do go back to the Middle Ages. The basic difference between the Continent and England lies in the way the law was formed. On the Continent, arbitration laws were usually drafted in the form of a separate chapter of the Code of Procedure. The law at any given time was therefore relatively clearly defined, whereas, until the Arbitration Act 1996, to use the words of...