1 Introduction

Subject(s):

Choice of law — UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules — UNCITRAL Model Law — Arbitrators — International courts and tribunals, decisions — International courts and tribunals, powers

This introductory chapter presents a brief overview of the practice of commercial arbitration in Germany against the background of German state court litigation. The term ‘commercial’ here refers to arbitration related to civil law disputes between parties and public international law (especially investment treaty-based) arbitration on the one hand and consumer arbitration on the other hand. Historically, the tradition of arbitration in Germany has its roots in the 1879 version of the Zivilprozessordnung (ZPO), which remained substantially unchanged up until 1997 when it was reformed in order to adapt it to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration of 1985 with the intention to strengthen the attractiveness of Germany as a locale for international arbitration. The chapter also explores the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration compared to German state court litigation, and discuss special types of arbitration and means of alternative dispute resolution.