Guerrilla Tactics in International Arbitration

To an extent that may surprise many, international arbitral proceedings are prone to serious interference from the obstructive or even criminal behaviour of interested ‘stakeholders’. Numerous anecdotes involving not only bribery and subornation but actual violent threats of retaliation have emerged since the editors of this book addressed an audience at the Vienna Arbitration Days 2010, at which time they used the popular term guerilla – denoting such tactics as ambushes, sabotage, and intimidation – to evoke their topic, and called for effective means to combat this undermining of the integrity and popularity of international arbitration. Their call bore fruit, and this collection of contributions by a wide spread of seasoned arbitration practitioners – the driving forces in their field – as well as leading academics with distinguished backgrounds and reputations bears powerful witness to the importance of the subject.

Going beyond anecdote, these authors adopt an analytic view of guerrilla tactics in arbitration as a broad collective of unconventional means that undermine the mechanism’s envisioned mode of operation. They offer eminently practical, ‘hands-on’ discussions that give this topic foundation and elaborate on the issue in detail, from the perspectives of counsel, arbitrators, and arbitral institutions, to the specifics and intricacies of national and international litigation and the role of international institutions, to an intensive discussion on ethics in international arbitration, and – most importantly – the way forward. Among the specific topics are the following:

dealing with state entities;
sanctions available for arbitrators to curtail guerrilla tactics;
influence of international institutions; and
use of diplomatic channels.

The book describes actual experiences from all major legal systems worldwide. Further practical guidance includes details of how to seek assistance from state courts, bar associations, the IMF, and the World Bank. As an invaluable source of knowledge and guidance, particularly as an instrument available to practitioners faced with arbitration guerrillas in jurisdictions all over the world, this book will rapidly become an indispensable handbook for use in difficult factual situations where time and means of recourse are limited.