The Gazette 1973

FOURTH INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CONGRESS by MAX ABRAHAMSON, Solicitor

fruitfully when on humanitarian grounds I released myself from all but the minimum attendance. I did not succeed in getting into a Russian home or forming any clear picture of the economics of the system or the degree of supervision of the lives of the citizens. It was very difficult in one week to reach con- clusions in a country where a first-class ticket to the ballet which would cost £8 in London, is only slighter dearer than a bar of chocolate. There was no contact with the Russian delegation. I understand, from other sources, that there are some- thing over 10,000 lawyers in private practice in Russia, but that their rolé is quite different to the role we perform, or should perform. A lawyer is prohibited from attempting to minimise the seriousness of the crime of the accused he is defending, and may not plead "not guilty" if he believes that his client committed the crime. This means that an accused is to a large extent defenceless against the State, and coupled with vague definitions of crimes, no doubt goes some way to explain- ing the abuses of judicial proceedings of which we have heard. Soviet officials are harrassing even wh®n they appear to wish to help; goodness help those of whom harrassment is encouraged officially. But perhaps this is not the best time to adopt an air of moral superiority about our legislation and "judicial" system. On the sightseeing level, I did not have time to go inside Lenin's tomb. Lenin is one lawyer who is looked upon as a deity by his subjects, unlike some of our judges who only think they are. His photograph is omnipresent and a long queue of sightseers stretches through Red Square waiting to see his entombed remains. We were told officially that there is freedom of reli- gious worship in Russia, and presumably this is the religion referred to. Several attendances at the Great Synagogues of Moscow were memorable but saddening experiences. Walking across Red Square after attending a perfor- mance of the Bolshoi Ballet in its home theatre, the cavernous Moscow undergrounds, the department store GUM (Government Universal Magazine—Moore Street under cover) were memorable. Moscow is recommended for a visit to all save gourmets—and steer clear of congresses. NOT ICE Vacancies in United Nations Secretariat The Society has received from the Department of Foreign Affairs notification of vacancies in the United Nations Secretariat some of which are open to persons with legal qualifications. Any member interested may obtain further particulars on application to the Society quoting the refer- ence E/8/73, February 14th, or preferably direct to the Department of Foreign Affairs quoting the reference 417/131/C, 14th February 1973.

This Congress was held from October 3 to October 7, 1972, and included as one of its major topics the prob- lems of construction arbitration, a recognition of the national and international importance, or at least prob- lems, of this field. The papers ranged from "Problems of Arbitration Procedure in Disputes Arising from Con- tracts for Industrial, Scientific and Technical Co- operation", "Arbitration Disputes in Major Construction Projects" and "Arbitration and Contract Guarantees" (by Dr. Eisemann, Director of the International Cham- ber of Commerce) to "Some Remarks on Pre-arbitration Procedure in Syria" and "Arbitration in Patent and Know-how Licence Agreements". Over fifty communi- cations were written on and about the basic reports. The amount of time and money spent on efforts to improve arbitration procedure must be minute measured against the importance of this subject, so that it is most sad to have to report that a sizable sum of money and the opportunity of serious work in this field of a large gathering of experts were wasted. Most of the reports and communications, saying nothing of any value at length but very diplomatically, were both circulated in advance and in many cases read verbatim by their authors at the sessions of the Congress. At the end of the wearisome affair the science or art of arbitration was not noticeably more advanced than at the beginning. Even surviving the boredom, one was in danger of drowning in powerful undercurrents. Communist coun- tries versus non-communist countries, England, France and America vying with each other as centres of com- mercial arbitration with the contribution to balance of payments. The hostility between lawyer and non-lawyer arbitrators was evident. It was particularly interesting that, whilst the dele- gations from other countries, particularly France, with one of the largest delegations, were almost all lawyers, the English/Scottish/Welsh delegation, with which I travelled, had a very small proportion of lawyers, yet it was calculated that between them this delegation had been involved in some 10,000 arbitrations (this included a very sizable number of shipping arbitrations). Perhaps it was as foolish to expect enlightenment in Moscow on matters relating to justice as it would be to expect instruction in Switzerland on naval tactics. It is probably naive ever to expect fruitful work from an international congress, and one should be satisfied to have had the opportunity to meet many people well worth travelling far to encounter. Nevertheless I was extremely depressed to encounter once again the extra- ordinary readiness of lawyers to pontificate on very difficult problems on the basis of often narrow, ill- digested and distorted personal experience, without the benefit of any proper investigation, or evidence. It is not surprising that there has been so little effort to tailor the technique of arbitration to the particular needs of the construction industry and that arbitration has been perverted from its intended purpose to a replica of court proceedings at their worst. As to Moscow generally, I travelled there in the belief that I would spend most of my time at the congress. As a result I had no plans for using my time as a tourist

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