THE ISSUE OF CORRUPTION IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE-QUESTIONING THE ARBITRATORS’ JURISDICTION?

Corruption and a private dispute resolution - two disciplines that have nothing in common? Contrarily. The area of international trade is, as a consequence of liberalization and globalization, free of many economical, legal and physical barriers between countries today. The international cooperation between subjects of different states and the exchange of goods and services is going hand in hand with a risky growth of international criminal activities. The jurisdiction of national judges has been limited in this field since the existence of an alternative dispute resolution that is more suitable to the global and commercial needs and claims. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether it is appropriate, in the context of the international arbitration proceedings, to raise an issue of corruption that may have affected or otherwise distorted the performance of a contract. The conclusion of this paper reveals that such issues should be permitted to be raised by the arbitrators in arbitral proceedings since the principal decision-making powers of the arbitrators in the area of international trade is undeniable.