The module aims to develop and deepen students’ understanding of the key contemporary issues of international arbitration, including commercial and investment arbitration. It aims to provide students with an opportunity to gain and refine their skills of research, critical reasoning, project and time management, and legal writing relevant to the increasingly important field of law and legal practice. It aims to prepare students for dealing with complex legal issues relating to the increasingly important field of dispute resolution in the global economic order, including the issues of ethics, legitimacy, and sovereignty.

(LO1) At the end of this module students will be able to demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the core principles of international commercial and investment arbitration.

(LO2) At the end of this module students will be able to identify and accurately apply the relevant law and principles to complex legal and factual problems.

(LO3) At the end of this module students will be able to critically appraise the legal framework surrounding international arbitration.

(LO4) At the end of this module students will be able to use and understand relevant statutory law and international conventions, arbitral rules, case law, and academic writing.

(LO5) At the end of this module students will be able to construct effective and coherent legal arguments.

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual)

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving - Critical analysis

(S3) Critical thinking and problem solving - Synthesis

(S4) Critical thinking and problem solving - Research

The list below is indicative and not all topics are covered every year with emphasis on several of those topics depending on current developments in the field of international arbitration to maintain the timeliness and practical relevance of the course.
- Introduction to international arbitration (definition and types of international arbitration, advantages and disadvantages compared to litigation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution, institutional and regulatory framework)
- Arbitration agreement (autonomy, types of agreements, law applicable to agreements, validity of agreements, drafting of arbitration clauses, pathological clauses)
- Arbitral tribunal (appointment of arbitrators, rights and duties of arbitrators, independence and impartiality of arbitrators, challenge and removal of arbitrators)
- Jurisdiction of arbitral tribunal (arbitrability, Kompetenz-Kompetenz doctrine–jurisdiction to decide on its own jurisdiction)
- Applicable law (law governing the arbitration procedure, determination of applicable law, applicable substantive law, lex mercatoria , ex aequo et bono)
- The conduct of arbitral procedure (ad hoc procedures and institutional rules, organising arbitral proceedings, Terms of Reference, taking evidence, provisional measures, multi-party issues)
- Arbitral award (deliberations, form and content of the award, costs of arbitration, remedies against the award, the role of arbitral institution in the scrutiny of the award, appeals against the award in domestic courts, setting aside of the award)
- Recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award (enforcement of awards in English law, Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (New York Convention), grounds for challenging awards under the New York Convention)
-contemporary critiques and reform of arbitration rules and practices
The module will provide a good overall review of international co mmercial and investment arbitration process. It is particularly suitable for independent learners who have a specific interest in international arbitration and have some prior knowledge of or are eager to engage in learning certain fundamental principles of private international law.

Teaching Method 1: Seminars

Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 12 x 2 hours

Unscheduled Directed Student Hours:

Description: Interactive seminars based on a reading and question list communicated to students before the seminar in light of the module syllabus. Seminars will offer a space to engage critically, in a group setting, with the historical and contemporary issues of law, international business and social justice.

Attendance Recorded: Yes

Self-Directed Learning Hours: 176

Description: This includes self-study for the seminars as well as independent research for and writing of the written assessment.