2021/03/31 by Richard Brent · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #International Arbitration and Investment Law #International Law and Human Rights #International Maritime Law Issues
paper · doi:10.1080/07075332.2021.1898439
openalex publication_date 2021/03/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
The arbitration in Geneva in 1872 – by which Great Britain settled US claims brought against it arising out of the civil war – has achieved canonical status. It is usually viewed as marking the beginning of the emergence of an institutional international rule of law, a movement which culminated in the Hague Convention of 1899 and laid the foundation for the Permanent Court of International Justice. The arbitration’s origins, however, lie as much in realpolitik as in idealism. Its conduct highlighted as much the flaws in international arbitration as its virtues. It was, above all, a political and diplomatic experiment that almost resulted in the British government’s disintegration in June 1872. The purpose of this article, by examining the origins, conduct and immediate political impact of the arbitration, from the perspective of its British participants, is to provide a corrective prism through which to view it afresh.