This Handbook brings together many of the key scholars and leading practitioners in international arbitration, to present and examine cutting-edge knowledge in the field. Innovative in its breadth of coverage, chapter-topics range from the practicalities of how arbitration works, to big picture discussions of the actors involved and the values that underpin it. The book includes critical analysis of some of international arbitrationâs most controversial aspects, whilst providing a nuanced account overall that allows readers to draw their own informed conclusions.

The book is divided into six parts, after an introduction discussing the formation of knowledge in the field. Part I provides an overview of the key legal notions needed to understand how international arbitration technically works, such as the relation between arbitration and law, the power of arbitral tribunals to make decisions, the appointment of arbitrators, and the role of public policy. Part II focuses on key actors in international arbitration, such as arbitrators, parties choosing arbitrators, and civil society. Part III examines the central values at stake in the field, including efficiency, legal certainty, and constitutional ideals. Part IV discusses intellectual paradigms structuring the thinking in and about international arbitration, such as the idea of autonomous transnational legal orders and conflicts of law. Part V presents the empirical evidence we currently have about the operations and effects of both commercial and investment arbitration. Finally, Part VI
provides different disciplinary perspectives on international arbitration, including historical, sociological, literary, economic, and psychological accounts.

About the Author:
Thomas Schultz is Professor of Law at King's College London, Professor of International Arbitration at the University of Geneva, Visiting Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, and Co-Director of the Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement. He is the author of Transnational Legality: Stateless Law and International Arbitration (Oxford University Press 2014), Information Technology and Arbitration: A Practitioner's Guide (Kluwer 2006), Réguler le commerce électronique par la résolution des litiges en ligne (Bruylant 2005) and Online Dispute Resolution (Kluwer 2004, with Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler), and the Editor-in-Chief and founder of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press).

Federico Ortino is Reader in International Economic Law at King's College London and a Consultant to Clifford Chance, specialising in international trade and investment law. He is a member of the ILA Committee on The Rule of Law and International Investment Law; member of the Executive Council (and former co-treasurer) of the Society of International Economic Law; member of the E15 Task Force on Investment Policy; consultative member of the Investment Treaty Forum; editorial board member of the Journal of International Economic Law; Yearbook on International Investment Law and Policy, Journal of International Dispute Settlement and the Journal of World Investment and Trade and one of the General Editors of Hart Publishing Studies in International Trade and Investment Law. He is the author of Basic Legal Instruments for the Liberalisation of Trade: A Comparative Analysis of EC and WTO Law (Hart 2004) and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of International Investment Law (OUP 2008).