Seat

Why it matters:

The 'seat' is where the arbitration is legally based, though hearings may take place elsewhere. The choice of the seat is important, as it decides:

  • which country's law governs the procedure of the arbitration. This law will decide questions such as whether an exclusion of rights of appeal is valid and how far the local court can assist or intervene in the proceedings. It may well be different from the law governing the contract: if a dispute under an English law contract is arbitrated in Paris, the contractual issues will be decided under English law, but French law will govern the arbitration procedure - that is French arbitration law is the procedural law of the arbitration. In addition, the law of the seat may have mandatory rules, which the parties cannot exclude by agreement. Most western countries' arbitration laws have few mandatory rules and allow the parties to set their own procedural rules by agreement, either expressly or by incorporating institutional arbitration rules; and
  • enforceability: An award will, in many cases, only be enforceable under the New York Convention if the seat of the arbitration is in a Convention country. For this reason, it is usually essential to choose a seat in a Convention country.

It is therefore important to obtain advice from local lawyers on the consequences prior to deciding upon the seat of the arbitration; see Questions for Local Lawyers.

Under some arbitration laws, and institutional rules, the concept of a "seat" is known as the (legal) place of arbitration.

Popular Choices:

European arbitration centres, of which the most used are London, Paris, Stockholm, Geneva and Zurich, all follow the international norm of party autonomy and limited court intervention. All provide acceptable legal environments for international arbitration. The choice between them will depend upon:

  • the location of the parties to the contract;
  • the desirability of having a neutral venue;
  • facilities;
  • the governing law; and
  • (after a dispute has arisen) where the dispute is centred, location of witnesses, etc.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore and Hong Kong are popular first choices.

Non-US parties generally avoid arbitration in the US, in view of the willingness of the US courts to intervene in arbitrations and the tendency of US arbitrators to follow procedures modelled on US court procedure.

Note that, under some arbitration laws, use of a particular seat, may (sometimes with other conditions) be prescribed in certain circumstances and so may need to be taken account of, at the time of contracting, to the extent relevant. For example, in PRC law, there is a requirement that disputes between PRC parties concerning subject matter in mainland China be arbitrated (or litigated) domestically only, see here for more.

Details of individual countries

For details of the most significant aspects of the arbitration law, and the approach of local arbitrators, please select a country from the right hand menu.