This issue of the Bulletin once again provides an opportunity to review the activity of the ICC International Court of Arbitration for the year just completed and attests, once more, to the growing diversity of ICC arbitration. As noted in ithe 1994 Statistical Report that begins this issue, the number of requests for arbitration received increased for the third consecutive year to a historical high of 384 Requests. Even more significant, however, the parties involved in these new cases were from the greatest number of countries ever (100), and there were significant increases, in particular, in the numbers of parties from Asia (85) and Central and Eastern Europe plus the Asian republics of the former Soviet Union (69). In particular, cases involving Russian parties rose significantly as did cases involving Chinese parties, both in the People's Republic and in Hong Kong.

The year just finished was also marked, once again, by continuing legislative activity around the world relating to international arbitration. One of the most important developments in this regard was the passage of an arbitration law in China, which will enter into effect on September 1, 1995. Sally A. Harpole, who has resided and practiced law in China and Hong Kong for many years, helpfully describes the new law in this issue. Although a welcome development, the new law nevertheless has come as a disappointment to many who hoped that China would at last lay down a legislative framework for the conduct of ad hoc and non-Chinese institutional (e.g., ICC) arbitration in China. As Chinese parties are increasingly becoming involved in ICC arbitration conducted outside China (e.g., in Singapore and Hong Kong), it is to be hoped that the law will evolve so as to make it clear that they may also arbitrate under the ICC Rules in China, particularly as ICC China, a new ICC National Committee, was constituted at the end of 1994.

Apart from Sally A. Harpole's contribution, the Bulletin is also pleased to include in this issue a particularly stimulating and practical article by Yves Derains on the choice of law applicable to the contract in international arbitration, the report of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration's working group chaired by Jean-Louis Delvolvé on multi-party arbitration, and further extracts from ICC arbitral awards.

Eric A Schwartz

Secretary General

ICC International Court of Arbitration