New kid on the block

In the past 30 years, arbitration has evolved from a mechanism practiced by a few specialists to one of the most established forms of dispute resolution. Unsurprisingly, there is a raft of new jurisdictions establishing themselves as centres for international arbitration. The Cayman Islands is one such jurisdiction: Cayman has a strong legal framework and well respected legal community, and has recently modernised its arbitration laws resulting in an increase in Cayman-based arbitrations.

So what are the lessons that Cayman and other offshore jurisdictions can learn from the more established arbitration jurisdictions?

Recipe for success?

While it would not be appropriate to ascribe a formula for creating a successful arbitration jurisdiction, it is possible to identify some common ingredients in the more established jurisdictions.

England is a (if not the) pre-eminent jurisdiction for arbitration and London is very regularly chosen as the seat of arbitration. While it is not alone in its success—New York, Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong to name but four,