On The Place Of Arbitration And Its Legal Significance

The “seat of arbitration” is an important concept which can be understood bothgeographically and legally in the international arbitration.Modern arbitration law andpractice tend to treat is as a legal concept while it can be determined in differentways.The first part of this paper will introduce the definition and determination of thisconcept.As a traditional and generally accepted approach, the seat theory emphasizes thelegal implications of the seat of arbitration.First, it identifies the law of the seat ofarbitration (lex loci arbitri) with the law governing the arbitration (lex arbitri). Second,the courts of the seat of the arbitration has the power of judicial review on thearbitration cases. Third, the seat of the arbitration is an important criterion todetermine the nationality of an award. The second part of this paper will try to analyzethe legal consequences of the seat of arbitration under the seat theory and its academicand practical basis.The denationalization theory is totally opposed to the seat theory. The third partof this paper will introduce the denationalization theory and the legal importance ofthe seat of arbitration by comparing it with that under the seat theory. Since thedenationalization theory hasn’t been generally accepted, this paper will also discussits possible deficiencies in the way of case study.Chinese legislations haven’t specify the seat of arbitration. The last part of thispaper will deduce and summarize Chinese approach on the seat of arbitration and itsproblemsby combing the current legislation and judicial interpretation. In the end, thispaper will try to give some advisory opinions on the modification of ChineseArbitration Law.