The advantages and disadvantages of international arbitration compared with litigation in international dispute resolution?

As the world’s borders no longer pose a barrier to trade in the same manner as they once did, international trade has developed and is further fuelled by supranational organisations such as the World Trade Organisation. [1] When disputes arise between trading parties, be that body corporates or sovereign state, there are a plethora of methods that can be employed to resolve the matters; the main two methods used in international disputes are arbitration and litigation. This essay concludes that arbitration can be significantly more conducive to the international trade environment, but there are certain pitfalls that can allow litigation to prevail over arbitration. One of the prime advantages of arbitration is the neutral forum within which the dispute can be conducted. This works to alleviate concerns that one or both of the parties may have that the forum could be biased towards a certain party because that party is a national of that state. [2] This neutrality increases t