Professional reasoning, legal cultures, and arbitral awards

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The practice of international commercial arbitration draws together a diverse range of participants (arbitrators, counsel and parties), from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In the face of this diversity, there have been attempts to standardize and harmonize arbitration procedures by combining procedures from different legal traditions, yet the potential for intercultural communication difficulties remains. This paper evaluates the influence of different legal cultures in arbitration, drawing on a comparative analysis of the discourse of professional reasoning in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral awards, supported by interviews with stakeholders in arbitration, and professional guides on award writing. The findings show that reasoning is considered to be an important element of an arbitral award, in order to facilitate compliance with and enforcement of the award. Furthermore, cultural variation is evident in the awards, with different conventions adopted especially in the selection and integration of legal authority, and in the practice of code-switching observed. The study highlights the importance for arbitrators of developing intercultural communicative competence, in order to operate effectively in a multilingual and multicultural environment.