Adopting and adapting an international model law in a multilingual and multicultural context

This paper analyses the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration issued by the United Nations in 1985 (and later integrated into the laws of several countries with varying constitutional, socio-cultural, and economic conditions) and its connected Arbitration Rules, in order to highlight the adaptations carried out in its “localization” process. In particular, the paper investigates the influence of the socio-economic environment in which the legal norms were introduced on the style adopted in drafting the texts. The examples are drawn from the norms enacted by Parliaments and arbitration chambers in various countries, whose texts show discrepancies due to different drafting traditions, legal contexts, linguistic specificities, and socio-cultural constraints. The analysis shows that, in spite of the growing efforts of the international community to guarantee greater and greater harmonization in legislation and procedures, specific linguistic and cultural aspects as well as local and social constraints still are a relevant conditioning factor.