Adopting and adapting an international model law in a multilingual and multicultural context

Maurizio Gotti

doi:10.1515/sem-2014-0025

Article

Adopting and adapting an international model law in a multilingual and multicultural context

Maurizio Gotti
Maurizio Gotti (b. 1949) is a professor at the University of Bergamo 〈m.gotti@unibg.it〉. His research interests include ESP (English for Specific Purposes), English syntax, English historical linguistics, and lexicography. His publications include Robert Boyle and the language of science (1998); Specialized discourse: Linguistic features and changing conventions (2003); and Investigating specialized discourse (2011).

Published/Copyright: July 31, 2014

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From the journal Semiotica Volume 2014 Issue 201

Abstract

This paper analyses the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration issued by the United Nations in 1985 (and later integrated into the laws of several countries with varying constitutional, socio-cultural, and economic conditions) and its connected Arbitration Rules, in order to highlight the adaptations carried out in its “localization” process. In particular, the paper investigates the influence of the socio-economic environment in which the legal norms were introduced on the style adopted in drafting the texts. The examples are drawn from the norms enacted by Parliaments and arbitration chambers in various countries, whose texts show discrepancies due to different drafting traditions, legal contexts, linguistic specificities, and socio-cultural constraints. The analysis shows that, in spite of the growing efforts of the international community to guarantee greater and greater harmonization in legislation and procedures, specific linguistic and cultural aspects as well as local and social constraints still are a relevant conditioning factor.

Keywords: Model Law; International Commercial Arbitration; Arbitration Rules; localization; harmonization; globalization

About the author

Maurizio Gotti

Maurizio Gotti (b. 1949) is a professor at the University of Bergamo 〈m.gotti@unibg.it〉. His research interests include ESP (English for Specific Purposes), English syntax, English historical linguistics, and lexicography. His publications include Robert Boyle and the language of science (1998); Specialized discourse: Linguistic features and changing conventions (2003); and Investigating specialized discourse (2011).

Published Online: 2014-7-31

Published in Print: 2014-8-1

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2014-0025

Keywords for this article

Model Law; International Commercial Arbitration; Arbitration Rules; localization; harmonization; globalization