There are roughly eight categories of legal authority utilized in ICA and which should be considered:
On this page there will be brief background about all these types of authority, however more information may be available under the same tab.
You may also wish to visit our research guide entitled "Foreign Law Basics."
Conventions and Treaties signed by signatories of states bind private actors to the terms of that agreement through the domestic application of the treaty provisions. These agreements may be bilateral (between two countries/states) or multilateral (between three or more countries/states).
Only some places where these treaties and agreements are republished are considered "official" and having a binding version of that agreement. So, even if you find a republished version through Google, that may not mean it is a binding replication of the text. Frequently, official versions are published online through particular websites sponsored by the international organization(s) that created the agreement.
Compilations of these conventions, bilateral and unilateral treaties were frequent before the days of electronic research, and these compilations are frequently published in loose-leaf format. Additionally, treaties and conventions may also be found individually and now some are published online.
See "National Legislation & Treaties" and "International Agreements & Conventions" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."
In ICA, national laws tend to be very narrow related to the issues, but they remain important for ICA practitioners.
A growing number of countries have adopted versions of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's Model on International Commercial Arbitration, or UNCITRAL Model Law. Although UNCITRAL is frequently referenced, it is not, in itself, binding. It has proven to be a very helpful and cohesive instrument for the field.
See "National Legislation & Treaties" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."
Most arbitral institutions (keeping in mind these tend to be private organizations) publish their own rules. Almost all of these institutions have an online presence with their rules published on their websites.
See "Codes, Rules & Model Laws" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."
This is governed by each arbitration (and contract) and is not commercially published. Here, practitioners must look to formal and informal procedures which have been issued by the arbitrator and in the original contractual agreement, such as the formal arbitration agreement. It may be possible to change the law of the dispute once proceedings have begun, but issues such as the binding forum and rules should generally be agreed upon in the initial contractual stages.
Arbitral awards are only binding on the parties in the dispute. However, they may be used as persuasive guidance in future arbitration's. Awards tend to be beneficial when issues arise that have not been covered by national statutes and have not been discussed much in national courts. Frequently, this is beneficial when researching procedural matters and challenges to arbitrators. These materials, if published, are found in electronic, bound, and loose-leaf editions.
Case law may be binding on judges from the same jurisdiction where the decision was determined, which is distinguishable from arbitral awards which have no precedential value. Case law may be binding on arbitrators if that issue is governed by national substantive or procedural law. Generally speaking, however, it is persuasive jurisprudence.
International Commercial Arbitration practitioners do not generally utilize case law since it is not generally considered necessary to access the entire body of a nation's court decisions (similar to Civil Law practice in general). Advocates do review judicial opinions which are relevant to international arbitration in their home or in foreign jurisdictions.
See "Case Law" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."
Treatises and Monographs provide detailed discussions of arbitration law and procedure. They frequently include popular international conventions, statutes, and arbitral rules in addition to independent analysis.
See "Treatises & Monographs" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."
Legal articles frequently address narrow and specific topics in great depth, and even how individual states approach it. There tend to be more of these than treatises and monographs.
See "National Legislation & Treaties" in this research guide under "Bibliographic Sources & Legal Authorities."