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Cultural differences needs to be considered in commercial arbitration
2004-05-19
Xinhua
International commercial arbitration needs to consider culture differences, William Slate, chairman of the American Arbitration Association, said in Beijing Tuesday.
During the 17th conference of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), Slate said different clients from different countries and regions have different values, languages, religions and cultures and if these differences are not paid attention to, cultural biases would emerge in arbitration and effect its process and results.
Good understanding of cultural differences can not only bring fair results but also bring more cases to the arbitrator, he said.
Sally Harpole, governing council member of Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, said many trade disputes were brought by misunderstandings arising from different cultures, languages and business habits.
"Some disputes even occur at the very beginning when the two parties signed contracts and they didn't even notice," she said.
She held that the enterprises should learn to avoid raising disputes, such as setting up dispute management organizations. Arbitrators should also study the cultural background of the clients.
In fact, some organizations have already noticed the cultural impact on international commercial arbitration. A brochure of Coudert Brothers LLP, a long-standing pioneer in international law, stresses "most of the lawyers in its China branch speak Mandarin" to attract Chinese clients.
Slate said the reason that the Hong Kong Arbitration Center attracts both Chinese and western clients is that Hong Kong enjoys a Chinese culture and western legal system.
He said the arbitration circle should examine the subject more deeply for a better comprehension, engage in cross-cultural training for arbitrators.
The most important is that dialogues should not be limited in the arbitration circle. Economists, social scientists, linguists and business executives should be invited and by doing so arbitration can be strengthened and improved, Slate said.
The three-day ICCA conference was opened Sunday, with more than 400 economic and legal experts from 47 countries attending the meeting.
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