Freedom versus Security in Regulating ADR and International Arbitration

This paper provides a comprehensive and comparative overview of the slightly different trends that the different sources of norms regulating arbitration manifest, and the effect of these trends over the field, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of an ever-growing tendency towards overregulation. Based on the analysis made on arbitration only, the paper then theorises on the potential impact a similar trend might have over other areas of alternative dispute resolution, especially in light of recent development initiatives on legal harmonisation in mediation. Finally, the paper offers a potential solution to counterbalance some of the negative effects of overregulation, by developing earlt dispute assessment to suit the characteristics of cross-border, cross-cultural disputes, by this allowing for dispute resolution to remain flexible and adaptable