Originally from:
Fifteen Years of NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration - Hardcover
Fifteen Years of NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration - Electronic
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Is NAFTA Arbitration "International"?
Thomas E. Carbonneau*
Although I am not a specialist in investment arbitration, my
remarks assess whether NAFTA1 arbitration is an authentically
international form of arbitration or a more national, albeit sui
generis, version of arbitral adjudication. Presumably, the question
arises because of NAFTA’s circumscribed geographic scope; it is,
after all, a purely North American framework. Additionally, it
seeks to resolve trade policy issues exclusively between the three
participating States and their nationals. On the other side of the
ledger, NAFTA arbitration--like ICSID,2 which is a truly
international form of arbitration—is regulated by treaty and seeks
to lessen the impact of sovereign standing and prerogatives on
private commercial transactions.
I. THE IMPACT ON NAFTA ARBITRATION
The critical question with the public law feature of NAFTA
arbitration3 is what impact it has upon the efficiency and
Full Table of Contents from Fifteen Years of NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration:
Thomas E. Carbonneau, Samuel P. Orlando Distinguished Professor of Law, Penn State University.
