다수당사자중재에 관한 고찰

Increasing complexity and diversity of the current society, several people are involved in a production, a service provision, the accomplishment of a project performance, etc. Therefore, when a dispute regarding this arises, it is necessary that several people having a bearing on the matters in dispute take parts in the same proceedings for the settlement of the dispute. This multi-party disputes are resolved not only by the adjudication of a court, but also by the award of an arbitrator or arbitrators. In national courts, it is generally possible to consolidate separate sets of proceedings, or to join additional parties. In arbitration, however, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to achieve this, because the arbitral process is based on the agreement of the parties. The issues of the so-called multi-party arbitrations are brought up when : ⅰ) several people who have a substantive relationship with one another become the claimants or the respondents of the same arbitral process, ⅱ) the separate proceedings based upon an individual arbitration agreement would be consolidated into the same arbitral proceedings, or ⅲ) a third person who is not the party of arbitration agreement would be joined as a party to the arbitral process. In a multi-lateral relationship, whether involving a single contract or separate related contracts, it may be appropriate or necessary to have a multi-party arbitration clause. By the way, drafting such a clause is not easy. It requires a close understanding of the nature of the relationship between the different parties, and of the type of disputes that may conceivably arise.