Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Universidade de São Paulo, 1981). / Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-172).

Univ., Diss.--Paris, 2002.

Written for the Institute of Air and Space Law. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2010/04/16). Includes bibliographical references.

International commercial arbitration ('ICA') is typically characterised as a procedural alternative to litigation in national courts. The great majority of scholarly literature on ICA relates to its procedure, as opposed to substance. This is not surprising since, in ICA, the governing substantive law is usually the national law of some state. One might therefore expect that there would be no difference between the decisions of arbitrators and judges on matters governed by substantive law. However, this intuition remains untested. ICA exists outside the legal system of any state and is specifically adapted for the resolution of international commercial disputes. The decisions of international arbitrators are fertile ground for the growth of international (i.e., transnational) commercial law. A better understanding of arbitrators' decision making will therefore shed light on how international commercial law is likely to evolve. Such understanding would also enable both consumers and providers of arbitration services to make better-informed decisions. International arbitrators' decisions are not susceptible to traditional legal analysis because only a tiny, non-representative sample of arbitral awards is published. The researcher simply lacks access to the necessary data. For the same reason, quantitative statistical studies of arbitrators' decisions are unlikely to yield useful insights. This thesis adopts a sociological approach. It identifies social norms that constitute an incipient culture of ICA and assesses the effects of these norms on arbitrators' decisions on the merits. Part I consists of two case studies that focus on specific areas of contract law. These case studies, which employ standard comparative law methodologies, provide evidence that the outcomes reached in ICA do diverge from those reached in national court litigation, even when arbitrators and judges purport to apply the same substantive laws. Part II employs the sociological methodology of 'grounded theory' to explain this divergence. It analyses the writings of arbitrators, counsel and commentators in order to describe two classes of social norms: those arising from the institutional structure of ICA and those arising from the values shared by international commercial arbitrators. The thesis concludes by predicting, in general terms, the effects of these social norms on arbitrators' decisions on the merits. It also suggests the specific contract law doctrines that international arbitrators will tend to prefer. These doctrines represent a likely future of international commercial law.

Note:

Habilitationsschrift - Cologne. / Bibliography: p. [381]-426.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: International trade has increased tremendously in the last few decades. When parties to a contract find themselves in different countries and each has its own legal background, specific problems originate in connection with formation of the contract, its execution, the breach thereof and so forth. The predominant theme of this work is the question of how a diversity of legal rules should be approached in an international context. The focus is on contract formation, and the rules of offer and acceptance are therefore examined. As a result of diverse legal cultures, different legal systems often have contradicting rules pertaining to contract formation, which can lead to a variety of problems if the contracting parties are not aware of the inconsistencies. According to international private law's choice of law-rules, such a contract should be governed by the rules of the legal system with which it has the closest connection. Connecting factors can be for instance the domicile of particular persons at various times, the situs of property, or the place where a juristic act was performed. One specific legal system will therefore rule the contract. There is however another possibility: that of a uniform substantive law. This involves the unification of different legal rules into one set of rules to be applied to contracts which are concluded in an international context. Taking into account that many of the rules and doctrines applicable to contract law have a common philosophical origin, the necessity of a convergence of these rules may be questioned. However, most of the rules ended up being different in different legal systems, and parties to an international transaction will probably not have the same idea about questions such as the possibility to revoke an offer before acceptance, or the precise moment of formation of the contract. A comparative study of the rules of offer and acceptance illustrates this point. International efforts to unify the law in this regard are explored, in order to assess the possibility of a uniform substantive law of contracts. Some of the international instruments seem to be able to find a middle way between conflicting rules, although it may not always be the best way to solve the problem. It is argued that harmony is not necessarily advanced by a codification of existing rules, and that a common legal culture which can lead to the incremental development of harmonious legal principles may be an alternative solution for the problem of incompatible national legal systems in an international context. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Internasionale handel het die afgelope paar dekades geweldig toegeneem. Wanneer kontraktante hulle in verskillende lande bevind, elke party met sy eie regsagtergrond, ontstaan eiesoortige probleme in verband met kontraksluiting, die uitvoering daarvan, kontrakbreuk, en dies meer. Die oorheersende tema van hierdie werk is die vraag na die hantering van 'n verskeidenheid regsreëls betrokke in 'n internasionale konteks. Die fokus is op kontraksluiting, en die reëls aangaande aanbod en aanname word derhalwe ondersoek. As gevolg van die bestaan van uiteenlopende regskulture het verskillende regstelsels dikwels teenstrydige reëls met betrekking tot kontraksluiting. Dit kan natuurlik problematies wees, veral indien die partye tot die kontrak nie bewus is van die teenstrydighede nie. Ooreenkomstig die choice of law-reëls van internasionale privaatreg, word so 'n kontrak beheers deur die regstelsel waarmee dit die nouste verbintenis het. Faktore wat dui op so 'n band kan byvoorbeeld die domisilie van bepaalde persone op verskillende tye, die situs van eiendom, of die plek waar 'n regshandeling verrig is wees. Een spesifieke regstelsel sal dus van toepassing wees op die kontrak. Daar is egter ook 'n ander moontlikheid: dié van 'n eenvormige substantiewe reg. Dit behels die vereniging van verskillende regsreëls ten einde een stel reëls daar te stel wat toegepas word op internasionale kontrakte. lndien in ag geneem word dat heelparty reëls en leerstukke in die kontraktereg 'n gemeenskaplike filosofiese oorsprong het, is die noodsaaklikheid van 'n vereniging van die reëls nie 'n gegewe nie. Die meeste van dié reëls het egter verskillend uitgekristalliseer in verskillende regstelsels, en partye tot 'n internasionale transaksie sal heel waarskynlik nie dieselfde opinie hê oor kwessies soos die moontlikheid om 'n aanbod voor aanname daarvan te herroep, of die presiese oomblik van totstandkoming van 'n kontrak nie. 'n Vergelykende studie van die reëls van aanbod en aanname illustreer die punt. Internasionale pogings om die reg in die verband te verenig word ondersoek, ten einde die moontlikheid van 'n eenvormige substantiewe reg van toepassing op kontrakte te beoordeel. Sekere van die internasionale instrumente blyk 'n middeweg tussen uiteenlopende reëls te vind, alhoewel dit nie noodwendig die beste manier is om die probleem voorhande op te los nie. Daar word geargumenteer dat harmonie nie noodwendig bevorder word deur 'n kodifikasie van bestaande reëls nie, en dat 'n gemeenskaplike regskultuur wat tot die geleidelike ontwikkeling van eenvormige regsbeginsels kan lei, 'n alternatiewe oplossing vir die probleem van onversoenbare nasionale regstelsels in 'n internasionale konteks kan wees.

No description available.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Met lit. opg. / Ook een bijdrage in het Engels.