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The use of arbitration in commercial matters was first codified in Louis XIV’s Ordinance on Commerce of March 1673. Shortly thereafter, the Ordinance on the Navy of August 1681 extended this provision to maritime matters. The links between maritime trade and arbitration are thus very long-standing. This is why arbitration clauses have long been common in various maritime contracts.
These issues have been the subject of much debate in case law and legal scholarship, particularly the question of whether an arbitration clause included in bills of lading or charter parties is enforceable against a third-party carrier or the consignee of the goods, and whether it is transferable to sub-carriers and sub-charterers.
While arbitration is frequently used in the maritime sector, it has also been gaining ground in other modes of transportation in recent years.
The objective of this working group is to examine the well-documented legal challenges associated with the use of arbitration in maritime law, as well as to explore the potential for this method of dispute resolution to expand into other modes of transportation.
With this in mind, the working group on arbitration and transportation law examines regulations, case law, and the practice of arbitration in the transportation sector to provide insights and analyses on the effectiveness of this method of dispute resolution in this specific branch of international trade.
List of working group members:

Chair:

Cécile Legros, Professor at the University of Rouen – Scientific Director of the Institute of International Transport Law (IDIT)

    cecile.legros.arb@gmail.com

Rapporteur:

Ana Atallah, attorney at the Paris Bar – Reed Smith, Paris.

    aatallah@ReedSmith.com

Members:

Listeners: