Economic Weakness Of A Party & Validity Concerns In International Commercial Arbitration

International commercial arbitration emerged as a privileged alternative dispute resolution mechanism over the years, besides traditional litigation. While arbitration is arguably regarded as a cost effective option due to its aim to minimize parties' losses in the broader picture, this is not the case in all arbitral proceedings. In certain cases, a party to arbitration may be in a state of economic weakness and may not be able to finance the costs of arbitral proceedings. In such circumstances, the validity of the arbitration agreement can be challenged. Whether such a challenge should be accepted or not is debated among lawyers and is universally controversial. As well known, unlike the court litigation, there is not a legal financial aid mechanism in international arbitration. Nonetheless, in the last decade, a relatively new practice known as "third-party funding" has emerged in international investment arbitration and started to be applied in commercial