Section e Scanning reading

18. Skim the text and give the main idea of it.

Types of commercial arbitration

A great many commercial disputes are resolved, not by litigation, but by arbitration. The relative merits of the methods of determining disputes are a perennial topic of discussion and controversy. Lawyers tend to prefer litigation, businessmen arbitration. Choice of the latter predominates in international contracts but is by no means universal. Neither system has any innate superiority over the other. Much depends on the nature of the dispute and the objectives of the parties. These may not be the same at the time of the dispute as they were at the date of the contract. In particular, the attitude of a plaintiff may be very different from that of a defendant.

That arbitration possesses certain advantages for the commercial man is undeniable. The parties can select an arbitrator or arbitrators in whom they have confidence (or can have the appointment made for them by a person or body whose judgment they respect) and who can be expected to be familiar with the kind of business in which the dispute arises. The proceedings are less formal and more flexible than litigation, the parties have greater control over them, the venue can be fixed by agreement with the arbitrator and (a matter of considerable importance) the hearing is private. Arbitration may also be cheaper and speedier than litigation.

Types of commercial arbitration. A part from the division between domestic and international arbitration, arbitral proceedings fall broadly into one of two categories;

1. ad hoc arbitrations, in which the parties themselves prescribe the mode of appointment of the arbitrator, who upon being appointed controls the proceedings himself, within the limits laid down by law;

2. institutional, or administered arbitration, in which the arbitrator is appointed, the proceedings conducted and the award issued in accordance with the rules of a trade association or a national, regional or international organization.

Institutional arbitration has the advantage of possessing a clear framework of procedure outside that prescribed by law and, in many cases, of institutional facilities for the conduct of the arbitration as well as an internal appeal system. These advantages necessarily involve some loss of flexibility but contribute greatly to consistency in the conduct of arbitrations within the system of business activity concerned. There is a profusion of foreign international organizations concerned with international commercial arbitration. Some of these are general and global in character such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Scanning reading

19. Scan the text in order to find answers to the following questions as quickly as possible.

Answer the questions:

1. What is mediation?

2. How does mediation differ from adjudication?

3. In what solutions do successful mediations result?

4. What can success of mediation in some counties be attributed to?

5. When did Argentina adopt a Law on Mediation and Conciliation?

6. Why did Argentina provide for mandatory mediation of most cases?

7. Once a case is filed what is the further procedure?

8. Outline some main features of the Law on Mediation and Conciliation.