This article addresses the past and present of international commercial arbitration in Latin America. Differentiating between international commercial arbitration and investment arbitration and reviewing the evolution of international arbitration in the region, it shows that most Latin American countries have embraced today a modern normative architecture of international commercial arbitration. A number of countries seem to be successful forerunners on that path. The legal framework has been adjusted and judicial decisions make an effort to overcome formalistic and idiosyncratic domestic trends. The author argues that Latin America’s negative attitude towards international commercial arbitration has been rather a myth that has no room in the today’s reality.
Journal of International Arbitration