Arbitration and Peace

In the grand tradition of philosophers of the project of perpetual peace, Immanuel Kant once famously proposed that the spirit of commerce (“Verkehr”) provided the essential ingredient.  Building on Kant’s insight, this talk proposes that this ‘spirit of commerce’ depends upon trust in a robust system of dispute resolution that provides credible infrastructure for resolving disputes when commercial relations go awry.  Absent that system, the incentives for commerce will not materialize, or “wronged” parties will appeal for domestic political intervention to vindicate their interests.  International arbitration, one of the most profound successes of international law in the twentieth century, provides that essential infrastructure.  The paper traces the history of the perpetual peace project, explains how international arbitration advances that goal and proposes how scholars and practitioners of international arbitration can contribute to that project in the twenty-first century.

Speaker: Professor Peter Bo Rutledge

Talmadge Chair of Law, School of Law, University of Georgia. Professor Rutledge is the Talmadge Chair of Law. From 2015 through 2024, he served as dean of the University of Georgia School of Law. He is the author of the book Arbitration and the Constitution and co-author with Gary Born of the book International Civil Litigation in United States Courts. His works have been published by the Yale University Press, the Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press, and his articles have appeared in a diverse array of journals such as The University of Chicago Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review and the Journal of International Arbitration. He also regularly advises parties on matters of international dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration).

Chair: Professor David Kershaw

This seminar is open to the public and will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

This event will be followed by a drinks reception.