Jusletter

The new Swiss Rules for International Arbitration are modeled on the UNCITRAL Rules, which were effectively pioneered by the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal starting in 1981. A conference on the new Swiss Rules is a good occasion to review the Tribunal's application of the UNCITRAL Rules. The author, who served as United States Agent to the Tribunal from 1990-1992, submits that the published Tribunal jurisprudence demonstrates the admirable versatility and flexibility of the UNCITRAL Rules as well as several flaws in their practical application. She notes that the drafters of the new Swiss Rules successfully made adjustments for several of the recognized flaws, and predicts that actual practice will lead to further adjustments for the needs of users.