With businesses tightening their belts and avoiding costly disputes, arbitration practitioners need to show they can still deliver results and value, say Stephen Jagusch and Andrew Pullen

International arbitration has, for many years, experienced extraordinary growth. A greater range of parties use arbitration for a wider range of disputes. Arbitration faces a number of challenges, however, not least from the fact that at a time of recession resources are stretched and businesses want to focus their resources on the productive parts of their business rather than on fighting disputes. Moreover, they want value for money, which translates into a desire for greater efficiency and effectiveness across a broad array of disputes.