Arbitrating In Bermuda: The Need For A Dedicated Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre

In the 1990's Bermuda sought to take advantage of the growing need for resolving disputes in international trade and commerce by arbitration rather than by litigation in national courts. The time was ripe for Bermuda to do so. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other developments in international trade, Bermuda's neutral geographical location and a system of justice based on English law made it well positioned to succeed. The architects of this vision of the future brought about the enactment of the Bermuda International Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1993 which supplied Bermuda with a necessary and internationally recognized system of law to govern international arbitrations (the UNCITRAL Model Law) while retaining the existing system for domestic arbitrations (the Arbitration Act 1986).