As the title of this article implies, this is intended as a subjective view of New York arbitration by an outsider rather than a factual and exhaustive account of how the procedure works, a task which could be far better undertaken by a New York maritime attorney or arbitrator. No doubt some of the prejudices revealed will appear, at least in the eyes of the New Yorker, to be based on ignorance. My experience of hearing outsiders speak about London arbitration is that the prejudices and areas of disagreement are of greater interest than the areas of agreement and I have therefore made no conscious effort to avoid controversial statements.

In this article I wish to try and highlight the differences between New York and London arbitration. Reference to New York arbitration and the rules governing it is in fact only to those arbitrations subject to the Federal Arbitration Act 1925 (Title 9, United States Code) and to the rules of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators (S.M.A.), which in practice cover the greater majority of maritime arbitrations in New York.

In an attempt to bring out the distinctions more clearly New York arbitration is considered under the following five headings which are, of course, to a large extent inter-related: (1) Arbitrators, (2) Tribunal, (3) Judicial Review, (4) Costs, and (5) the Award.

Most leading maritime arbitrators in New York are members of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators. In order to become a member, an arbitrator must usually have had 10 years experience in a maritime related field, must have passed the arbitration workshop conducted by the S.M.A., and must be approved by the Society’s membership committee and by the Board of Governors. In theory therefore the S.M.A. would seem to provide a greater guarantee of expertise on the part of the arbitrator than is provided in London. I do not however believe the distinction in practice to be of importance as all the leading arbitrators in London can claim at least equivalent experience.

Further, a significant majority of London arbitrations are heard by members of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (L.M.A.A.) and the following extract from the present secretary’s letter to an applicant shows, if anything, a more stringent requirement than that laid down by the S.M.A.: