In
this study, the authors argue for a more refined methodology in research on
commercial arbitration. Drawing on new developments in international commercial
arbitration, they seek to create a typology of various aspects of legal
conflict resolution and, as a consequence, to increase the relevance of
empirical work on this topic. The article identifies three key areas of
tensions, which generate new developments in commercial arbitration and cannot
be addressed from the perspective of the existing sociological paradigms.
First, the tension between procedural formality and flexibility can be
observed, as reflected in the well-established judicialization trend, combined with
a recent renewed interest in mediation and ‘soft’ hybrid procedures. Second, the confluence of global
and local factors (as seen in the American and Asian ‘waves’ in arbitration) affects, inter alia, the professional culture of arbitration
practitioners. Finally, the tension between public and private interests and
values, which influences procedural preferences and solutions in the field of commercial
arbitration, can be identified.