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Thailand Arbitration Center Episode 2
Arbitration Agreement
Drafting a clear and specific arbitration agreement prevents procedural issues from occuring during the arbitration proceedings. The arbitration agreement should set the rules that arbitrators have to follow. For this reason, it is crucial to identify the law applicable to the contract. If parties forget to enforce such rules, arbitrators have to find the most appropriate law to apply. However, this could lead to other issues as each country has different law to regulate the same circumstances.
In the arbitration agreement, parties should agree on the language to be used in the proceedings and define the terms present in the contract. It is because the same term in different languages could have completely different meanings. Moreover, agreeing on a common language can simplify the interaction between the parties and the arbitral tribunal leads to time and cost-saving.
In case the agreement presents gaps to be filled, the arbitral tribunal will first enquire if parties can agree on the missing element. If an agreement is not met, the arbitral tribunal will use the most appropriate and suitable elements to fill the gap accordingly to the dispute and the parties’ need.
The last element to be included in the arbitration agreement is the seat of arbitration. This element is one of the most important if not essential. Identify the seat means to find the national court competent to support the arbitral tribunal in the proceedings, and the one competent to set aside the award. Moreover, the law of that country will provide the procedural law applicable in case the parties did not choose one.
