Despite its prolonged existence, the relationship between the European Union and international commercial arbitration still raises many unanswered questions, amongst which that of the role and place of European Union law in arbitral proceedings. A specificity of EU law is that despite originating from the EU legal order, it forms an integral part of the legal order of each Member State. Consequently, the interpretation and application of the laws of a Member State may require that arbitrators look beyond the domestic realm when EU rules are at issue and take into account the context of the EU legal order. This contribution analyses four salient issues in this regard: First, it asks whether the place of arbitration matters for the application of EU law both with respect to procedural matters and concerning the merits of disputes. The second and third parts of this contribution address, respectively, the application of non-mandatory norms and mandatory EU rules in the context of arbitration proceedings. Finally, some insights are provided on the state of play with respect to the possibility for arbitration tribunals to ask a preliminary question to the CJEU on a matter of EU law.

Lex arbitri (or ‘law of the arbitration’) is the law applicable to an international arbitration based upon the legal seat designated by the parties. The content of lex arbitri is dictated not by international law, but rather by the national law on international arbitration of the chosen jurisdiction. Typically, lex arbitri will address issues relating to the constitution of the arbitral tribunal and the conduct of the arbitration, including the extent to which local courts may be called upon to assist the arbitration process or may review and enforce any potential award, and the legal limits of arbitration in a jurisdiction.This chapter will consider the impact of lex arbitri on international commercial arbitration on the one hand and international investment treaty arbitration on the other.ICSID investment arbitrations are substantially ‘delocalized’ through the legal framework of the ICSID Convention, reducing their dependency on lex arbitri.By contrast, non-ICSID investment arbitrations are ‘localized’ in the seat of arbitration, and therefore are subject to lex arbitri.The direction of travel of international investment treaty proceedings, shown by complex bespoke procedural regimes in specific IIAs and negotiations for a Multilateral Investment Court, international investment disputes may ultimately ‘graduate’ out of dependence on lex arbitri.