Ethics in International Arbitration, by Catherine A. Rogers

Abstract

Ethics in International Arbitration , by Catherine A. Rogers, Oxford University Press, 2014, Paperback, ISBN 9780198713203 (386 pp). The last few years have seen international arbitration stakeholders taking a considerably increased interest in ethics. Leading figures have expressed concern about the state of ethical regulation in the arbitral process and its potential impact on the perceived legitimacy of the system to both insiders and outsiders. From the early work of Jan Paulsson in the 1990s1 to the recent keynote address of Sundaresh Menon at an International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Congress,2 dozens of contributions have assessed the main actors, hotspots, and ways forward associated with ethics in international arbitration.3 The absence of a book-length treatment of this topic had begun to seem like a gap in the scholarship. This is the gap that Professor Catherine A. Rogers fills with Ethics in International Arbitration , and she does this beautifully. A well-known scholar of professional ethics and international arbitration, Professor Rogers builds on her previous insightful scholarship4 to answer contemporary questions about the ethical duties and professional conduct of participants in the arbitral system. Her general thesis is that international arbitration should be self-regulated, that is, that stakeholders should play a primary role in the ethical regulation of the system. Her book is arranged in two parts. The first part (Chapters 1–5) offers a detailed review of ethical issues arising in the system, particularly for arbitrators, counsel, experts, and third-party funders. The second part (Chapters 6–10) sets forth a theoretical framework based on self-regulation and the ‘functional theory’, which is utilized to develop a potential regulatory regime for ethics in international arbitration. The 10 chapters of the book have different objectives, which are for the most part very effectively met. In Chapters 1, 6, and 10, Professor Rogers takes on the role of a sociologist of the (international) legal profession. In the opening chapter, … fabien.gelinas{at}mcgill.ca