The Role of Party Autonomy in Choosing Procedural Law in Arbitration: the rules of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre

Abstract

While the role of parties’ autonomy is of minimal importance when discussing procedures in cases including foreign element presented before the courts, it plays an important role in the choice of applicable law in arbitration procedures. The reason for this is that an arbitrator is not subject to law of jurisdiction, in the same way as a national judge. In response to the development of protection of intellectual property, the World Intellectual Property Organization “WIPO” organization has established an arbitration and Mediation centre, described as the first institutional international center specialized in settling intellectual property disputes, and has given the parties freedom to choose the law applicable to procedure. The study concludes that it is essential to introduce amendments to the WIPO arbitration rules to guarantee legal clarity and prevent confusion, such as imposing characterization to the law of the selected seat of arbitration, the need for explicit choice on the law governing the arbitration procedures, and clarification about what is meant by the law of the seat of arbitration in the absence of choice.