From the history of arbitration. Mikaël Schinazi, “The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration”. Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, Cambridge University Press, 2021 pp. 400

Abstract

The history of international commercial arbitration has not been of particular interest to researchers hitherto. This research gap is largely filled by Mikaël Schinazi's monograph entitled “The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration”, which was published in the Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law series by Cambridge University Press in 2021. The article periodizes the history of international commercial arbitration and distinguishes three eras: “the Age of Aspiration”, which was characterized by the particularism of arbitration law and the emergence of the first permanent arbitration tribunals; “the Age of Institutionalization”, which saw the emergence of international sources of arbitration law; and “the Age of Autonomy”, in which the specialization of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution took place. The paper employs scientific literature and historical sources, such as the judicial decisions of the courts of arbitration. The International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, one of the oldest and largest arbitration tribunals in the world, is a special place for M. Schinazi. The author's work is interdisciplinary, as it touches on economic and social history in addition to the legal (historical and legal) issues, which makes it an important reading material in the field of history and dogmatics of arbitration law.