Language

Unlike domestic arbitration, in transnational disputes the issue of language is complex. Article 22 addresses this delicate matter. During the deliberations of the Working Group in 1985, the key aspects of the current version of article 22 were not contested. The issue had already been discussed by an UNCITRAL working group on international contract practices and the Model Law’s language-related principles had been duly considered. There was, however, some concern as to the criteria which the tribunal was expected to apply in order to arrive at a sensible default language in the absence of express agreement in the parties’ arbitration clause or compromis.