Arbitrators, corruption, and the poetic experience: 'When power corrupts, poetry cleanses'

摘要

This article is the text of the Kaplan Lecture which Mr Fortier delivered in Hong Kong in November 2014. As the title indicates; Mr Fortier seeks to establish a link between corruption in arbitration and the writing of poetry. He starts from the premise that when arbitrators uncover a factual matrix tainted by corruption, they should heed the call of poetry. After a review of the multiple facets of the global condemnation of corruption which he contrasts with the shortcomings of enforcement mechanisms and the paucity of arbitral awards that deal expressly with corruption, Mr Fortier sees a role for arbitrators to palliate these shortcomings. This role, pleads Mr Fortier, requires the arbitrator to be as a poet and to balance harmoniously his duties, his loyalty to the parties, and his concerns for international good morals.