This chapter focuses on the choice and enforcement of applicable law in arbitration agreements. In international arbitration cases, Article V(1)(a) of the New York Convention provides that the validity of an arbitration agreement should be first determined under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was made. Hence, if the parties have not chosen the applicable law for an arbitration agreement, ‘the default rule’ is that the law of the place of arbitration shall apply. This chapter addresses the question as it applies to Korea and considers cases where conflict or a misapplication of the law is in effect. Moreover, it also covers several cases in which courts have applied the Act on International Private Law (AIPL), Korea’s conflict-of-laws statute, to determine the applicable law.
Introduction to Symposium on the Third Restatement of Conflict of Laws