Arbitration is frequently the most effective way of resolving international commercial disputes. In a typical dispute the parties will be of different nationality and have different legal and cultural backgrounds. Neither side will be content to allow the dispute to be decided by the national courts of the opposing party. Arbitration offers the parties the opportunity to choose their own arbitrator, the location of the arbitration, the procedures and the law in accordance with which the dispute is to be resolved. It also offers them privacy and in many cases this is likely to be a very important consideration.