Unity and diversity in international arbitration: the case of maritime arbitration. (in Special issue on "Emerging Dilemmas in International Economic Arbitration", introduzione di William W. Park)

One of the most ancient and most practiced -until nowadays- forms of international commercial arbitration is International Maritime Arbitration. Despite its history and importance for world trade, very little literature and academic research has been produced on this matter. The article explore in a critical manner singularities existing as regards the validity of arbitration agreements, the role played by arbitrators, the arbitration institutions, the organization of arbitration, among some others. Final considerations over the development of electronic maritime arbitration are presented advocating the need of a reform of the existing legal framework. More broadly, globalisation and cyberspace/electronic technology are two factors advancing mobility and changeability into societies' life, including the maritime one, as expressed by new norms incorporating new values and this means that the rule of law has to keep pace with such a mobility. The interaction of societies in maritime trade causes changes ultimately in society's life as a whole, changes which have to be endorsed by the rule of law. For all these reasons, existence of formal and informal dispute systems is fundamental for the understanding and existence of the rule of law because both systems of dispute resolution contribute into the shaping of its content. This paper thus covers some reflections over the role of maritime arbitration in the development of the rule of law on the sea.