Confidentiality is one of the most valuable—but misunderstood—benefits that international arbitration offers in cross-border commercial disputes. This article examines the role that confidentiality plays in international commercial arbitration, the numerous advantages it offers, and how to effectively impose it.

What Is Confidentiality?

To understand why confidentiality is important in international arbitration, it is first necessary to understand what confidentiality is. While parties and jurisdictions differ in their definitions and expectations, in the international commercial arbitration context, confidentiality generally means the obligation to avoid disseminating information or materials from an arbitration to anyone other than the parties, their advisors, or the arbitrators.

That formulation also generally precludes anyone other than parties, their representatives, and arbitrators from attending hearings (which some jurisdictions consider a matter of privacy instead of confidentiality). In short, while a precise universal definition is elusive, confidentiality in the international commercial arbitration context generally means that only the parties, their advisors, and the arbitrators are entitled to know the full details of a dispute.