THE SOVIET UNION’S APPROA CH TO ARBITRATION AND ITS ENDURING INFLUENCE UPON ARBITRATION IN THE FORMER SOVIET SPACE

Abstract

This article seeks to explain the enduring effect of the Soviet Union and its founding principles  upon arbitration in the former Soviet space. It does so by reference to the Soviet Union’s attitude  towards – and contribution to – the development of arbitration, analysed in three stages: pre- 1917, post-1917 and in the post-Soviet space. As part of that analysis the article considers what  rights were being arbitrated in the absence of private rights that would otherwise be readily  recognisable within an overtly capitalist jurisdiction. After analysing the Bolsheviks’ attitude to  arbitration, the article seeks to explain that a by-product of the distinctive goals of the USSR was a focus on arbitration as a mechanism for dispute resolution and to demonstrate how arbitration was a necessary component of the Soviet economy, developing as a tool through the arbitrazh tribunals and Moscow Convention 1972, both of which led to a two-track system which encouraged international arbitration but downplayed its significance at the domestic level. The article then  seeks to explain the impact of the Soviet Union’s approach to commercial arbitration upon modern  arbitration in the post-Soviet space. A study of Russia, the CIS and the former Republics  demonstrates the lasting impact of Soviet theory and practice on the post-Soviet arbitral environment.