I am pleased to be able to introduce, for the first time, this issue of the Bulletin. As the International Course of Arbitration enters its seventieth year since its creation in Paris in 1923, activity at the Court remains as vibrant as ever. The statistical information contained in this issue reveals that, in 1991, for the fourth consecutive year, the number of arbitration requests received exceeded 300. As this issue goes to press, the 7500th request for ICC arbitration has just been received by the Secretariat.

The continuing development of ICC arbitration poses unique challenges for the Course, which has grown considerably during this seventh decade of its existence. Over the last ten years, new members have been added to the Court from more than twenty countries, including several of the Arab countries, which are the subject of the Special Supplement that accompanies this issue of the Bulletin. Six Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia) are now represented on the Court, a testament to the efforts undertaken to create a truly unique and international Court within the ICC. It is hoped that this new Special Supplement, like its predecessor on international arbitration in the Asia/Pacific countries, will further understanding of arbitration in the very important Arab region.

The diversification of the participants in the ICC arbitration process has made the dissemination of information about it all the more important. Hence, a substantial portion of this issue of the Bulletin is again devoted to the study of ICC arbitral practice - in this case, to one of its most controversial and least understood features, the Terms of Reference. Eric Schäfer, for four years a Counsel with the Court's Secretariat, provides a historical perspective on the Terms of Reference in his article on the subject, which is followed by the very comprehensive report recently produced by a working party of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration.

This issue of the Bulletin also continues the practice of publishing extracts from recent ICC arbitral awards on a given subject. The extracts reproduced here on the subject of interest will undoubtedly contribute to parties' and arbitrators' understanding of this very important component of nearly all arbitral claims.

Eric A.Schwartz

Secretary General

ICC International Court of Arbitration