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Punovažnost arbitražnog sporazuma
Validity of Arbitration Agreement

Author(s): Milena Petrović
Subject(s): Civil Law
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Arbitration agreement;Form of arbitration agreement;Arbitrationality;Meritory law;
Summary/Abstract: Arbitration agreement is at the root of every international commercial arbitration. It is the prerequisite for establishing jurisdiction of arbitration and, at the same time, the ground for derogation from state courts’ jurisdiction. By referring their dispute to arbitration, the parties consent to submit to arbitration, to exclude jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and to accept the arbitral award as binding. It is common knowledge that the value of every arbitration rests on the arbitration agreement. Only a valid arbitration agreement will allow you to determine the jurisdiction of arbitration and to reach an enforceable decision. Validity of an arbitration agreement can be the assessed at different stages of the process and by different organs. Thus, the issue of validity may be raised either before or after the arbitral award have been made, and it will be decided by arbitration or the court, depending on the point of time at which validity is being assessed. The subject-matter of this paper is the validity of arbitration agreement. The author focuses on the elements of the agreement which are essential for its validity. However, the author also examines the issue of meritory law by which this validity will be assessed, aiming to improve the safety of parties in international transactions, as well as to ensure that their submission of dispute to arbitration will bring full effect.