Part II The Doctrine of Res Judicata in International Commercial Arbitration, 4 Res Judicata in International Commercial Arbitration—A Problem

Subject(s):

Res judicata — Arbitral rules — Recognition and enforcement — Arbitrators

This chapter addresses problems concerning the doctrine of res judicata in international commercial arbitration. It also asks the following questions: What are the possible consequences of the occurrence of res judicata issues in international commercial arbitration? Expressed differently, what interests are at stake? Duplicative proceedings of res judicata require vast resources. The parties are required to invest considerable amount of time, money, and efforts in proceedings which they already went through, without having any good reason to suppose that the second proceedings will lead to a more accurate decision than the first one. These situations only gave an additional burden on the party who prevailed in the first proceedings. Also, these proceedings create risk of inconsistent decisions. Coexistence of inconsistent decisions could seriously undermine the very existence of the arbitral process.