Arbitration reform has become a central focus in both academic and practical discussions, driven by the increasing complexity of cross-border disputes, rapid technological advancements and emerging voices, values and societal expectations. As globalisation continues to reshape international trade and investment, international arbitration frameworks must adapt to new realities. This has sparked a series of reform initiatives aimed at making arbitration more legitimate, accessible and effective. Reforming Arbitration Reform, edited by Crina Baltag and Mark Feldman, commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Conference. The volume grows out of the 2023 ITA–ASIL Conference in Washington, DC, co-chaired by Professors Baltag and Feldman. Positioning itself within a broader and more fundamental inquiry – the “reform of the reform” – the book gathers contributions from more than 30 leading practitioners and scholars. It explores how emerging values such as diversity, inclusiveness and sustainability are reshaping the arbitration landscape. The volume also offers a comprehensive assessment of ongoing and forthcoming reforms in both international commercial and investment arbitration, reassessing the premises, methods, and objectives of the reform movement and questioning whether current debates provide an adequate framework for addressing the field’s underlying challenges.
Comprising 19 chapters, the volume is organised into four interconnected parts. Part I (chs. 1–3) offers a theoretical foundation, exploring the motivations behind current reform efforts, introducing intersectionality as an analytical lens to examine how race, environmental concerns and indigenous rights intersect with arbitration reform, and analysing the nature and critiques of the international judicial function. Part II (chs. 4–11) investigates the key forces shaping contemporary reforms, with particular attention to diversity, governance and the roles played by arbitral institutions and professional bodies. Part III (chs. 12–17) turns to regional experiences, illustrating how various regions are influencing investment treaty practices and arbitration mechanisms. Part IV (chs. 18–19) looks ahead, assessing emerging shifts in arbitral values and stressing the importance of balancing efficiency, fairness and legitimacy in the future evolution of international arbitration.
International arbitration has been experiencing sustained and multifaceted reform, yet the underlying rationales and the concern of potential overregulation remain contested. As Loukas Mistelis observes in Chapter 1, arbitration is not a traditional legal system but a procedural mechanism with a sui generis transnational character, making regulatory efforts inherently complex. He examines the ongoing arbitration reforms, and proposes a classification of these reforms, from modest corrective, modernisation adjustments to more ambitious innovations or even system-recalibrating changes, highlighting that while reform is essential for legitimacy, excessive or ideologically driven regulation risks eroding arbitration’s core strengths of flexibility, efficiency and party autonomy. Mistelis therefore calls for pragmatic, user-driven reforms that enhance legitimacy without judicialising the system.
Yet a deeper question arises: can current reforms adequately address the intersecting challenges of today’s international legal order? In Chapter 2, Helène Ruiz Fabri and Edoardo Stoppioni critique the binary divide between procedural refinements and systemic overhaul, introducing intersectionality as a framework to capture how race, environmental protection and indigenous rights intersect with investment arbitration. Through three case studies, they demonstrate that investment arbitration often fails to engage with these complex sociopolitical dimensions, arguing that meaningful reform must integrate intersectional perspectives to rebalance investor protection with social justice and promote more equitable global economic governance.
The broader international judicial function faces similar pressures. In Chapter 3, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes et al examine the growing state backlash against international adjudication, seen in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body’s paralysis and scepticism towards Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), and assess whether adjudicators themselves contribute to this crisis through judicial overreach in reasoning, jurisdiction or interpretation. They stress the importance of reinforcing dialogue between states and adjudicators to maintain the balance between judicial autonomy and state sovereignty, citing the WTO “Walker Process” as a promising model for structured engagement and transparency.
Building on existing critiques and emerging needs, new voices are reshaping international arbitration by advancing innovative reform strategies and embracing evolving values. These reforms respond not only to long-standing criticisms but also to shifting expectations among diverse stakeholders. They reflect broader transformations across multiple dimensions, including third-party funding (TPF), ethics, governance and procedural fairness.
TPF has become a central factor in arbitration, expanding access to justice while raising concerns about conflicts of interest and procedural integrity. In Chapter 4, Lucas Macedo and Alice Fremuth-Wolf analyse whether funders operate as “troublemakers” or “gatekeepers”. Despite fears of funder-driven frivolous claims and funder–arbitrator conflicts, empirical evidence shows that funders typically finance fewer than 10 per cent of cases, based on legal merit and financial viability. They also highlight the growing influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations: funders increasingly prioritise climate-aligned disputes and are more reluctant to support claims challenging environmental regulations, thereby positioning TPF as a mechanism that indirectly advances global sustainability goals. States, especially developing countries and small states, are also becoming more assertive in shaping dispute-resolution norms. Margie-Lys Jaime observes, in Chapter 5, that many low- and middle-income states are terminating or renegotiating older Bilateral Investment Treaties and promoting alternatives such as amicable dispute resolution, enhanced state-to-state cooperation and proposals for a multilateral investment court. In Chapter 6, Petra Butler shows how small island states leverage forums such as International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to address climate-related claims and pursue access to commercial justice through tailored multilateral frameworks.
Diversity constitutes another critical reform area. In Chapter 7, Carolyn B. Lamm and Jennifer Ivers document the growing representation of women in arbitration, with female arbitrator appointments rising from single digits to 26.1 per cent by 2021. Kabir Duggal and Kevin W. Gray broaden the focus to diversity in all its facets in Chapter 8, emphasising intersectional identities such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability. They conclude that while awareness has increased, genuine inclusion requires continuous structural reform and sustained commitment. Institutional dynamics likewise play an essential role. In Chapter 9, Chiann Bao and Amr Omran examine the influence of professional organisations through the example of the IBA, a major “value provider” through its soft-law instruments. Maria Fernanda Garza and Michael McIlwrath analyse how the ICC adapts governance structures to meet demands for transparency, efficiency and innovation in Chapter 10. Daniel Ávila II highlights in Chapter 11 how growing intra-regional trade in Latin America and the Caribbean has spurred the development of regional arbitral institutions, bringing new perspectives and procedural innovations to the global system.
A key trend in contemporary arbitration reform is regionalism, with different regions developing distinct approaches to investment dispute settlement. In Chapter 12, Facundo Pérez-Aznar traces how Brazil’s Agreements on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments (ACFIs) and the MERCOSUR Investment Protocol reflect the region’s long-standing scepticism towards traditional ISDS. Brazil, which never joined International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), favours dispute prevention and state-to-state dialogue. After an initial failure, MERCOSUR adopted the ACFI-inspired 2017 ICFP, balancing investor protection with regulatory autonomy and using multi-tier dispute resolution. In Chapter 17, Eduardo Grebler and Filipe Greco show that Brazil and its neighbours now emphasise conciliation and preventive diplomacy, resorting to arbitration only in limited forms. These developments signal a regional shift away from BIT-style ISDS towards cooperative frameworks emphasising state control.
In Asia, regionalisation is driven by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and mega-regional agreements. In Chapter 13, Jeffrey Lo and Pasha Hsieh highlight ASEAN’s harmonised investment treaties and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, which notably omits ISDS, indicating a cautious regional consensus. Mark McLaughlin and Dilini Pathirana describe in Chapter 14 ASEAN’s “managed diversity”, combining convergence towards international norms with persistent differences in national arbitration laws. Externally, ASEAN states engage in interstate arbitration while adapting rules to domestic contexts. China’s reforms, analysed by Manjiao Chi and Zongyao Li in Chapter 16, include revising the Arbitration Law to adopt the seat concept, strengthen tribunal powers and recognise competence-competence. Practical innovations, such as the Mainland–Hong Kong Interim Measures Arrangement and opening the market to foreign arbitral institutions, enhance China’s integration into global arbitration. New measures, including the Foreign State Immunity Law, prepare China for a greater role in investor–state arbitration. In Europe, Federico Ortino, in Chapter 15, examines the EU’s dual agenda of updating substantive treaty standards and replacing ad hoc ISDS with a permanent Investment Court System, alongside its push for a Multilateral Investment Court at UNCITRAL. While ambitious, these reforms may either lead global change or contribute to a more pluralised, less uniform system.
The book concludes by offering practitioner insights and a forward-looking assessment of the values that will shape the future of international arbitration. Chapter 18 departs from academic analysis and features an interview with former ICSID Secretary-General Meg Kinnear, conducted by Professor Andrea K. Bjorklund. Kinnear’s reflections provide a practitioner’s perspective on the reforms discussed throughout the book, highlighting which changes matter most in practice, how the roles of arbitrators and counsel are evolving, and which traditions should be preserved, thus grounding the reform debate in real-world experience.
The final chapter (ch. 19), by Victoria Shannon Sahani, turns explicitly to the foundational values that will guide arbitration’s evolution. She revisits classical principles such as peaceful dispute settlement, fairness, choice, and efficiency, arguing that these must adapt to contemporary challenges. Sahani notes that choice is increasingly questioned due to unconscious biases affecting arbitrator selection and that technological developments such as Artificial Intelligence may redefine the meaning of efficiency. She also emphasises the growing influence of regionalism, as initiatives in regions such as ASEAN, MERCOSUR and the African Union promote more localised and inclusive reform models. Overall, the book suggests that the future of arbitration lies in embracing diversity, fairness, transparency and regional innovation while remaining grounded in its core mission of peaceful dispute resolution.
Reforming Arbitration Reform delivers a clear message: the long-term credibility of international arbitration depends on constant self-reflection, openness to new voices and a commitment to evolving values. Today’s reforms are not mere technical fixes but a broader reimagining of how arbitration should adapt to a rapidly changing world. Inclusivity, fairness, transparency and responsiveness to social, political and environmental concerns are essential for maintaining legitimacy. As regional initiatives, new actors, and technological advances reshape the field, arbitration must balance tradition with innovation to remain effective and equitable. The book’s diverse contributors collectively reframe reform as a legitimacy project rather than a purely procedural exercise. While its breadth is impressive, a more integrated concluding synthesis would strengthen its coherence. Even so, the volume makes a significant contribution to contemporary debates, offering both critical reflection and practical guidance. It provides scholars and practitioners with a clearer understanding of arbitration’s challenges and a conceptual map for navigating its future.
