Redfern & Hunter on International Arbitration. 7th edition

BOOK REVIEW

REDFERN AND HUNTER ON INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION
7th edition

By Nigel Blackaby KC, Constantine Partasides KC, with Alan Redfern

ISBN 978 0 19286 990 6

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

www.oup.co.uk



A WELCOME NEW EDITION ON THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION FOR 2023

An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator


We welcome the new edition of “Redfern and Hunter on International Arbitration” now in a seventh edition from Oxford University Press. Sadly, Professor Martin Hunter passed away in 2021, but Alan Redfern continues to assist in the revision of the text which is now undertaken by Nigel Blackaby KC and Constantine Partasides KC.

This book has established itself as the leading treatise on the law and practice of international arbitration, described as “the pre-eminent method for the peaceful resolution of disputes in international trade, investment, and commerce.”

Do read the moving Foreword written by Alan Redfern which gives some history to the publication and the distinguished colleagues who have been a part of its germination over the decades. Today, the title gives us an excellent introduction to the subject in just over 700 pages. It explores the chronology of an arbitration from the drafting of the arbitration agreement right through to the enforcement of the arbitral award which we believe will be fascinating both to the student and the more experienced practitioner.

Written by the experienced author team of Blackaby and Partasides with extensive experience as counsel and arbitrators, the seventh edition has been read and cited by international lawyers, arbitrators, and judges. It is right to say that it has become “a key learning text for teachers, students, and potential arbitrators in colleges and universities across the world”, and useful to all involved in ADR.

The seventh edition has been significantly revised for 2023 to include the latest and most important developments in what we would call global arbitration. The editors have included changes in areas including investor state dispute resolution, and leading case law decisions on arbitration matters in a wider number of jurisdictions. Also referred to are changes in the 'soft law' of leading international arbitral institutions and of the International Bar Association IBA), and the impact of the continuing covid pandemic on the processes and practice of international arbitration.

There is also a pack edition available which offers gives the practitioner a copy of this hardback edition. There is also an access code available for the digital edition, which can be accessed via the “LawReader” app for the more technical-savvy modern lawyers.

What we now get is a leading international authority on the law and practice of international arbitration written by lawyers highly experienced in conducting international arbitration, both as counsel and as international arbitrators. They have included useful appendices on the major international rules of arbitration and conventions and model arbitration clauses for international contracts which will be useful to all readers.

The seventh edition amalgamates changes in many of the major arbitration rules and supporting guidelines which we found most helpful. Also, the editors have reviewed amendments in the "soft law" of the leading arbitral institutions and of the IBA and analysed the impact of covid on the practice of international arbitration now we are hopefully at the tail end of the pandemic as we face new challenges in the middle of this decade.

The date of publication of the seventh edition of this OUP hardback book is cited as 2nd November 2022.