International Arbitration: Law and Practice in Switzerland

This book expounds the theory of international arbitration law. It explains in easily accessible terms all the fundamentals of arbitration, from separability of the arbitration agreement to competence-competence over procedural autonomy, finality of the award, and many other concepts. It does so with a focus on international arbitration law and jurisprudence in Switzerland, a global leader in the field. With a broader reach than a commentary of Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act, the discussion contains numerous references to comparative law and its developments in addition to an extensive review of the practice of international tribunals. Written by two well-known specialists - Professor Kaufmann-Kohler being one of the leading arbitrators worldwide and Professor Rigozzi one of the foremost experts in sports arbitration - the work reflects many years of experience in managing arbitral proceedings involving commercial, investment, and sports disputes. This expertise is the basis for the solutions proposed to resolve the many practical issues that may arise in the course of an arbitration. It also informs the discussion of the arbitration rules addressed in the book, from the ICC Arbitration Rules to the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration, the CAS Code, and the UNCITRAL Rules. While the book covers commercial and sports arbitrations primarily, it also applies to investment arbitrations conducted under rules other than the ICSID framework.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1: The Concept and Sources of Arbitration 2: The Law of the Arbitration 3: The Arbitration Agreement 4: The Arbitral Tribunal 5: The Jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal 6: The Proceedings before the Arbitral Tribunal 7: The Law Applicable to the Merits and the Award 8: The Annulment and Enforcement of the Award Bibliography

About the Author :
Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler is a professor at the University of Geneva, where she teaches international arbitration. She is also the Director of the Geneva LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) and a Co-Director of the Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS), both joint projects of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the University of Geneva. Professor Kaufmann-Kohler is a founding partner of Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, where she practices international commercial and investment arbitration. She regularly ranks among the world's top ten international arbitrators. She has authored, co-authored, edited, and contributed to numerous works on international arbitration. Antonio Rigozzi teaches international arbitration and sports law at the University of Neuchâtel and is a partner at Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, where he heads the sports arbitration practice. He regularly acts as counsel before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Swiss Supreme Court, and frequently sits as an arbitrator in commercial arbitrations. Professor Rigozzi has published widely on international arbitration and sports law, being in particular the author of a well-known treatise on international sports arbitration (L'arbitrage international en matière de sport, Basel, 2005) and co-author of the first article-by-article commentary of the CAS Code (Sports Arbitration under the CAS Rules, in Arroyo, M. (Ed.), Arbitration in Switzerland A Practitioners Guide, Alphen aan den Rijn, 2013).

Review :
Practitioners in Switzerland and abroad will find the book to be a valuable addition to existing literature on international commercial arbitration in Switzerland owing to the authors clinical focus on the practice, procedure and case-law of the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The book reaffirms Switzerlands place as one of the most arbitration friendly jurisdictions and is likely to encourage practitioners to recommend Switzerland as a probable seat for arbitration to their clients. In any event, the book is an excellent resource for the study of international arbitration for novices and experienced hands alike. With a harmony rare in the world of legal scholarship, this thoughtful treatise provides a superb balance of the general and the specific, taking Swiss law as a prism through which to separate key themes in arbitrations juridical framework. Robust analysis gracefully weaves concrete illustrations into clear elaboration of broader principles. Counsel will find answers to questions encountered in practice, while scholars cannot fail to discover deeper understanding of doctrinal dilemmas now facing cross-border dispute resolution. The product of two brilliant professors, accomplished arbitrators and experienced counsel. Its clear structure and the authors' fund of knowledge on the subject-matter make this book an excellent source of information for all users. Vital and accessible, an indispensable reference guide for anyone interested in arbitral matters. In a single, immensely readable volume, the authors provide not only a comprehensive and authoritative account of Swiss international arbitration law, but one that is thoroughly informed by comparative as well as international sources. We thus have in this work an indispensable source of learning about a jurisdiction of fundamental importance in the world of international arbitration presented in as cosmopolitan a fashion as possible.