The Arbitrator's Jurisdiction at Risk: The Case of Hybrid and Asymmetrical Arbitration Agreements

Abstract

This article considers the extent to which flexibility in the drafting of arbitration agreements will be recognized and enforced at the arbitration proceedings by arbitral tribunals or by state courts. This article focuses on the issues raised by the interpretation and the enforcement of commonly adopted arbitration clauses known as hybrid clauses (which either amalgamate features of institutional arbitration with ad-hoc arbitration or provide for chosen institutions to administer arbitration by another institution’s rules, or a fusion of the two) and asymmetrical arbitration clauses (which grant one or both parties to the agreement the option to arbitrate in one of a number of chosen fora or either arbitrate or litigate)