Principles of interpretation of contracts under English law and their application in international arbitration

摘要

This article discusses the interpretation of contracts in international arbitration, looking first at the current position on the interpretation of contracts as established by the English courts. It then considers whether an international arbitration tribunal construing a contract is, in fact and/or in practice, constrained by the governing law. It will further consider the influences upon a tribunal in reaching a conclusion as to how a contract should be interpreted and the general approach taken by an international arbitral tribunal to questions of interpretation of contracts. The article concludes that parties are arguably not well-served if they cannot predict with some certainty how a tribunal will approach a particular issue but that this lack of certainty is a trade-off that parties are willing to make in opting for international arbitration.