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Interest plays a vital and increasing role in international arbitration proceedings, with almost every case having an element of interest involved. However, until now, the topic has received very little attention, meaning that arbitrators have had very little concrete foundation on which to judge decisions on interest awards. This book is the first authoritative guidance to address this, providing a uniform approach to the awarding of interest in international arbitration.
Interest in International Arbitration aligns arbitrators' decisions with standard commercial practice, offering a practical and logical approach to how interest should be awarded. It sets out traditional approaches that arbitrators have followed in the past, such as using conflict of law to apply a statutory rate from a given law, or awarding instead a subjectively 'reasonable' rate, and examines how these inconsistent approaches have resulted in a variety of awards and decisions. The author uses this analysis as a basis for a uniform approach to the issue: granting compound interest at appropriate rates unless constrained by truly mandatory law. The author sets out the calculation method, explores the benefits and limitations, and presents a thorough argument for the movement toward a uniform approach to interest awards.
List of contents
- I: Introduction
- II: Background
- III: The rate of interest
- IV: Calculation method
- V: Period
- VI: Conclusion
About the author
Dr. Matthew Secomb is a partner in White & Case's International Arbitration Group in Singapore. He is also Co-Head of the Asia-Pacific International Arbitration practice. He has acted as counsel in over forty international arbitrations under various rules (ICC, SCC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICSID etc). He also acts regularly as arbitrator. Dr. Secomb is an Associate Adjunct Professor in Energy Arbitration at the National University of Singapore and lectures in International Arbitration at Queen's University, Ontario. He is well-published, having authored numerous articles and five book chapters on arbitration and related topics.
Summary
This work is the first authoritative analysis of the treatment of interest in arbitration awards. It is a comprehensive assessment of the approaches commonly used in determining interest in international arbitration. The work sets out a uniform approach and a framework for calculation of particular value to arbitrators and practitioners.
Additional text
Dr Secomb's book represents a comprehensive, up-to-date and critical monograph on the subject of interest. It is timely because there is growing appreciation that the economic and quantitative aspects of international disputes deserve fuller and better attention from parties and their counsel, and arbitrators. As such, this study will be of great assistance to arbitration practitioners, scholars and students in this under-examined corner of international arbitration.
Report
Dr Secomb's book represents a comprehensive, up-to-date and critical monograph on the subject of interest. It is timely because there is growing appreciation that the economic and quantitative aspects of international disputes deserve fuller and better attention from parties and their counsel, and arbitrators. As such, this study will be of great assistance to arbitration practitioners, scholars and students in this under-examined corner of international arbitration. James Freeman, ASA Bulletin
