International Arbitration and Cross-cultural Issues

This paper highlights and explores the impact of denial and lack of awareness of the issues related to social cultural differences in the context of international arbitration. Mary Howard is Persian-British, resident in Britain since 1977, extensive work with mixed cultural communities and teaching. PGC in Oil and Gas Law, LLM, PhD, FCIArb, past Executive Secretary of CIArb South branch, Legal consultant, Company Director, www.englegal.co.uk. This academic research “Impacts of cultural Differences on international arbitration, based on the example of Iran” was carried out at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, 2013-2018. This primary research revealing that there are two groups of non-believers about the impacts of cultural issues in the context of international arbitration. Additionally, a brief history and analysis of the formation of international arbitration and its relations to the current social cultural issues. Research shows that some arbitrators deny Cultural Difference Issues (CDI) or act as if public or private international law in the cases exist in a vacuum. There is evidence of cases where arbitrators ignore that CDI have significant impacts in the outcome of international arbitration. Furthermore, some international arbitrators believe that the only cultural differences are differences between the legal systems and technical understanding, denying the existence of CDI in the context of international arbitration; and yet, evidence shows culture affects a person’s world view, understanding of law, business norms, emotions and expectations. Keywords: Arbitration, arbitrators, international, culture, cultural differences social.