Online Arbitration in Theory and in Practice: A Comparative Study of Cross-Border Commercial Transactions in Common Law and Civil Law Countries

This book presents an overview of online arbitration and electronic contracting worldwide, examining their national and international contexts, and assessing their ongoing relevance. It offers solutions to the salient challenges facing both online arbitration and electronic contracting, dealing first–hand with online arbitration as an online dispute resolution technique for solving both traditional and electronic commerce disputes that may arise out of the breach of contractual obligations in international commercial contracts, while also comparing between common law and civil law countries. In the theory of law, this book analyses the international legal framework that regulates e–commerce, and its impact on electronic contracting, including Model Laws and International Conventions such as the Model Law on Electronic Commerce of 1996 and the Electronic Communications Convention of 2005. It also investigates whether the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980 ‘The CISG’ applies to e–commerce contracts. In addition, it extensively examines the possibility for the enforcement of online arbitration agreements and online arbitral awards under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. Regarding the practice of law, the volume examines how national courts apply both national laws and the New York Convention of 1958 when dealing with the enforcement of online arbitration agreements, and whether courts apply the provisions of national laws of arbitration liberally. As such, it encourages the adoption of a more liberal judicial regime in favour of the enforcement of online arbitral awards and online arbitration agreements in national courts. This book represents a valuable resource for academics, arbitrators, practicing lawyers, corporate counsels, law students, researchers, and professionals who are willing to solve their cross–border commercial disputes through online arbitration.

Dr Ihab Amro is an Assistant Professor of Private Law and a practicing lawyer and a chartered arbitrator. He received his PhD from the Athens Law School, Greece, in 2011. He has published several books in both Arabic and English, including a book on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards which has been included in the Bibliography of 1958 New York Convention Guide of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ‘UNCITRAL’. He has also published articles in several international law journals, including the Hague Yearbook of International Law, the Arbitration Journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and the Slovenian Arbitration Review, among others. He is a member of several international arbitration organisations, including the Association of Attenders and Alumni of The Hague Academy of International Law, the ICC Young Arbitrators’ Forum, and the Moot Alumni Association. His current research focuses mainly on international commercial arbitration and online dispute resolution.