Place of Arbitration - UNCITRAL Arbitration

The place of arbitration is of particular importance for the enforcement of an UNCITRAL award. The law of the place of arbitration will also determine the procedural framework of an arbitration and define the extent to which local courts can intervene in the arbitral proceedings.

If the parties do not agree on a particular place, the place of arbitration will be determined by the arbitral tribunal having regard to the circumstances of the case. These may include:
 

Some treaties and agreements contain additional requirements for choosing the place of arbitration.  For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), requires that the place of arbitration be in the territory of a DR-CAFTA Party that is also a signatory to the New York Convention, unless the parties agree otherwise (e.g. DR-CAFTA Article 1020). 

The award is generally made at the place of arbitration (Article 16.4 of the 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and Article 18 of the 2013 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules).

Places of arbitration in UNCITRAL cases previously administered by ICSID have included London, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Paris and Washington, D.C.