One Window into the State of Insiders’ Arbitration Scholarship

Abstract

This book, dedicated to Charles N. Brower, a prominent international arbitrator, provides a window into the field of international commercial arbitration. It is a depiction and embodiment of the state of what can be called ‘insiders’ international arbitration. It purports to be about ‘practicing virtue,’ providing keys to the actual work of international arbitrators as depicted by an important segment of them. But the scholarship of arbitrators performs multiple functions, including self-promotion, criticism of competitors from outside, unification of the field, and bolstering the legitimacy of the field, among others. The book is therefore not only about the practice of virtue as this community sees it. It is also about ‘dealing in virtue’ – seeking to maintain the market for precisely what this group has to offer.