2 The Arbitration Agreement

Subject(s):

Consent to jurisdiction — Arbitral agreements — Arbitral tribunals — Arbitrators

This chapter provides an overview of arbitration agreements in particular—what they entail and how these agreements are formed. Arbitration after all begins with an arbitration agreement between parties to settle a dispute by means of arbitration. Korea’s 2016 Arbitration Act adopts the Model Law definition of an arbitration agreement. It provides that, alongside written requirements, electronic expressions of intent such as those made by email and telex, and other expressions by electronic means, can also be considered as arbitration agreements if the intent of the parties can be confirmed. Further requirements have been laid down in the seminal 2003 case Republic of Korea v Rotem Co. The chapter then goes on to cite further cases that demonstrate the various aspects of an arbitration agreement, such as its institutions, scope, validity and effect, and so on.