TITLE:
A Glance at the Legal Status of Non-Signatories in International Commercial Arbitration
AUTHORS:
Yujia Zhang
KEYWORDS:
Arbitration, Arbitral Agreement, Non-Signatory, Enforcement
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.4,
April
25,
2021
ABSTRACT: Arbitration has been recognized as one of the most
popular ADRs in commercial disputes. Theoretically, arbitration is based on a valid
arbitration agreement and only the parties to the agreement are forced to obey
the award. However, in legal practice, it is not uncommon for arbitral awards
to be enforced against non-signatories. This paper introduces some major legal
basis of this situation, including the traditional principles such as agency
relationship and other controversial principles, among which “the group of
companies” is a typical principle. At the same time, the application of these
theories is also discussed. The principle of “group of companies” is considered
as a pioneering method specially created for arbitration.