The Role of the Seat of International Commercial Arbitration

The present research is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the practical role of the seat of the international commercial arbitration (ICA). Within the framework of such an analysis, the research forms a conceptual and terminological basis corresponding to the current level of doctrine and legislation development for the study of the seat of the ICA as a legal institute, identifies the main practical consequences of determining the seat of the ICA, and considers the methods of such determination and the features of their practical implementation. The author examines the correlation of the seat of the ICA and the law applicable to the ICA (lex arbitri), the influence of the seat of the ICA on the enforceability of the arbitral awards. As the main methods of determining the seat of the ICA, the author identifies the following: agreement of the parties, determination by the arbitrator, determination by the state court, determination by the appointing authority. The latter method of determining the seat of the ICA is rather nominal since in practice it finds very limited use. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of determining the seat of the ICA in the context of online arbitration, as well as to the admissibility of changing the seat of the ICA both before the arbitral hearings and in the process.