Confidentiality in Arbitration

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Law - Civil / Private, Trade, Anti Trust Law, Business Law, grade: 1st Class Honours, University of Kent, language: English, abstract: The importance of this analysis is underlined by the 2010 International Arbitration Survey by international law firm White & Case and the Queen Mary University of London, which highlights a common misconception amongst companies in regards to confidentiality in arbitration, as "e;[...] 50% of respondents erroneously believe that arbitration is confidential even where there is no specific clause."e; This essay will compare and contrast the extent of confidentiality in commercial arbitration in two developed countries with great significance to the international business community; the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany. It will critically assess the extent of confidentiality in English and German arbitration, by contrasting confidentiality in: Privacy in Arbitral Proceedings; and Disclosure of documents The analysis will reveal contradictory conclusions as principles of confidentiality among both jurisdictions are [ ] sporadic and inconsistent. Formally, the German Zivilprozessordnung (ZPO) offers a greater extent of privacy and a higher degree of flexibility necessary through devolving confidentiality to the autonomy of the parties. Restricting ad hoc court intervention to a minimum and offering numerous provisions for an expedient arbitral resolution such as amicable solutions , ban on fishing expeditions and supportive-functions of German courts, appeals to certain industry sectors and companies.