International Arbitration and the Forensic Accountant ; Martin Long, Forensic Accounting Partner at Btg Global Risk Partners in Birmingham - a Division of the Leading Professional Services Consultancy Begbies Traynor Group - Comments On the Need for Proper Preparation Before Embarking On International Arbitration

Birmingham Post › January 27, 2011

Linked as:

Summary

An enduring trend in the legal world has been the increasing popularity of international arbitration as the preferred medium for transnational dispute resolution. The volume of international arbitration cases has increased several-fold during the past 20 years, accompanied by a proliferation in the number of arbitral institutions. There was a time when international arbitration was the province of state-to-state conflict or for disputes between major multinational corporations. But globalisation has brought about an inevitable increase in the number and complexity of cross- border commercial transactions such that relatively modest size companies are now required to address the potential risks associated with litigation in a foreign country. In this same vein, many countries have also now amended local laws and introduced new arbitration legislation in order to encourage overseas business. For the UK, a further consequence of these factors has been that international arbitration is no longer limited to the London legal market but is equally relevant for the regions.

Arbitral institutions are typically country specific or industry relevant. For international commercial arbitration popular general purpose institutions include the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Paris and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). International commercial contracts commonly include a dispute resolution clause which directs the parties to one of these or the many other arbitral bodies. This means that should the contract go wrong, the parties have a pre-agreed demonstrably neutral forum in which to resolve matters rather than at least one party trusting to the vagaries (whether perceived or real) of a foreign court system. It provides certainty, or at least transparency, as regards the choice of arbitral institution, the location of formal hearings, language, selection and number of arbitrators, prevailing laws and procedures, as well as to some extent jurisdiction.

See the full content of this document

Extract

International Arbitration and the Forensic Accountant ; Martin Long, Forensic Accounting Partner at Btg Global Risk Partners in Birmingham - a Division of the Leading Professional Services Consultancy Begbies Traynor Group - Comments On the Need for Proper Preparation Before Embarking On International Arbitration

In business as in life it is often said that "failing to plan is planning to fail". Nowhere is this more relevant than in the face of impending litigation and in my experience especially so wher...

See the full content of this document