New French Arbitration Law Reflects a Boldly Liberal Approach

Article by Barthélemy Cousin, Vincent Béglé and Alison G. FitzGerald

The new arbitration law of France¹ - a complete reworking of the law that has attracted much attention - will come into force on May 1, 2011. It is acknowledged by commentators that France, traditionally an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction, will, as a result of adopting Decree No. 2011-48 (the "Decree"), have one of the most liberal arbitration laws in the world. Such a liberal approach can only reinforce the position of Paris as a seat of choice for international commercial arbitration.

This overhaul of the Code of Civil Procedure ("CCP") covers the titles of the code that pertain to both domestic and international arbitration, consolidating numerous jurisprudential trends and incorporating a number of innovations.