ICC Bulletin

Alain Plantey

19 July 1924 - 3 March 2013

Alain Plantey was elected to the presidency of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in 1988 after a life of service to his native France, both at home and abroad. A doctor of law and graduate of France's prestigious training school for senior civil servants, the École nationale d'administration, he began his career at the Conseil d'État. His interest in foreign relations quickly led to prominent positions within the French foreign and overseas ministries. From 1961 he was closely involved in African affairs and in 1967 was appointed France's ambassador to Madagascar, a position he held until 1972. During the following ten years he played a leading role in European defence structures, at the head of the Standing Armaments Committee and in charge of the Paris office of the Western European Union.

When Alain Plantey took up office as President of the International Court of Arbitration in 1989, he brought to the position a rare understanding of the importance of international cooperation and commerce, borne of his rich and diverse experience as statesman, diplomat and lawyer. It is significant that one of his early initiatives was to add the word 'international' to the name of the Court to better reflect its composition and the premises underlying its approach to arbitration.

Within the ICC, Alain Plantey is fondly remembered for the energy and commitment he gave to developing the Court and its Secretariat and laying the foundations for their future development. The many achievements that marked his presidency include the establishment and expansion of regional consultative groups on arbitration in Arab countries, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Europe. Another of his accomplishments was the creation of new sources of information on international arbitration, including the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin, a documentation centre within the Secretariat of the Court, databases of arbitral decisions and the dissemination of publications in an increasingly wide range of languages. He was also a leading force in the introduction of a computerized system of managing the Court's rapidly growing caseload.

A man of action and determination, Alain Plantey was also a man of reflection who leaves a legacy of writings which again reflect the breadth of his vision and interests as well as his brilliance. His exceptional contribution to culture and scholarship was honoured with some of France's highest awards-the Legion of Honour, Ordre des palmes académiques and Ordre des arts et des lettres. Writing in the Bulletin almost 20 years ago, he predicted with remarkable foresight the rewards and challenges of globalization and the future rise of international arbitration:

Toutes les civilisations ont accepté l'arbitrage comme mode de règlement des litiges les plus divers. La caractéristique du monde contemporain est qu'il s'y développe un arbitrage de caractère international, extérieur aux systèmes étatiques, attentif aux différentes civilisations, en vue de répondre aux nécessités de l'échange qui tendent à se diversifier et dans lesquelles la sécurité est de plus en plus nécessaire. Il ne s'agit pas de créer un doublon de la justice étatique dont la mission est connue, mais de répondre à un besoin nouveau auquel les juridictions nationales ne sont pas capables de répondre. Ainsi s'exprime une tendance lourde de l'économie mondiale dont le développement continuera au siècle prochain. En somme l'arbitrage international est devenu progressivement une discipline autonome au sein du droit et des pratiques du commerce international.^{<a href="#footnote1">1</a>}