![handle is hein.journals/inalr3 and id is 1 raw text is: THE GOLDFISH MODEL OF ARBITRATION: AN
'OUT-OF-BOWL' APPROACH TO DEMYSTIFYING
PROCEDURAL LAWS IN COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION
Garv Malhotra*
ABSTRACT
The interplay of procedural laws in international arbitration often confuses
arbitration enthusiasts and practitioners. It is a multi-dimensional concept
which is hard to explain or understand in abstract. Proposed below is a
graphical model, which by analogy, represents the key procedural laws in a
commercial arbitration and the interplay between them. The author believes
that 'The Goldfish Model' approach can simplify answering complex questions
of applicable procedure for each stage of arbitration, whether domestic or
international.
Disclaimers
First, The Goldfish Model of Arbitration (the Goldfish Model or the
Model) does not postulate a new theory or style of practice. It simplifies
and articulates the existing wealth of arbitral theory and practice from a
different angle. The author recognizes that simplifying a system pivoted
on the balance between judicial minimalism and party autonomy' can be
a complex exercise with its own limitations. However, the objective of the
Model is to imprint the broad architecture of the international arbitration
system on the reader's mind.2
* The author is an international disputes lawyer and a partner at Skywards Law. He holds
a B.Com., LL.B. (Hons.) from the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar,
an LL.M in arbitration from the National University of Singapore, Singapore and a
Master's in International Disputes from the Graduate Institute, Geneva. The author
is grateful to Professors Gabrielle-Kauffman Kohler, Jeffrey Waincymer and Gary
Born; and Josef Ostianskj, Aviral Sinha, KhrystynaKostiushko, Naman Maheshwari,
Prateek Bagaria and Surya Ravikumar for their extremely valuable inputs and support.
1. Rt Hon Lord Mustill, 'Too Many Laws' [1998] 6 (1) Asia Pacific Law Review 1-22;
also see his judgment in Channel Tunnel Group Limited v Balfour Beatty Construction
Limited [1993] AC 334, 357.
2. The author submits: like any model or theory, the Goldfish Model may perhaps
skirt a few rare intricacies but broadly impresses the concept efficiently and
should be judged and tested on its 'verisimilitude' or 'truthlikeness'. The author
requests the reader's indulgence in this regard, see Graham Oddie, Truthlikeness
(first published 2001, Edward N Zalta, 2016 edn, The Stanford Encyclopaedia of
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/inalr3&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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