As this issue of the Bulletin goes to press, preparations are being made for the twelfth annual colloquium of the ICC Court, ICSID and the American Arbitration Association, which this year will address the status of the arbitrator. It is therefore appropriate that this issue begins with two important articles touching on the appointment and conduct of arbitrators.

The first, by Dominique Hascher, the ICC Court's General Counsel and Deputy Secretary-General, examines the practices of the ICC Court in respect of the appointment, confirmation, challenge and replacement of arbitrators. These are, of course, matters that are of vital importance to the parties in arbitral proceedings, and Mr. Hascher's discussion of the related practices of the ICC Court helps to fill out with considerable detail and concrete examples the few, general principles set forth in the ICC Rules in this regard. It is a piece that will undoubtedly be of invaluable assistance to parties and their counsel.

The contribution that follows from Stephen Schwebel, Vice-President of the International Court of Justice, deals with a narrower, but no less important, matter: the truncated arbitral tribunal. At a moment when arbitral institutions are considering whether to include specific provisions in their arbitral rules on this subject, My. Schwebel's article, which was originally delivered as the fourth Goff lecture in Hong Kong one year ago, is particularly timely as well as being the most up-to-date treatment of the subject.

We are also pleased to include in this issue of the Bulletin articles by Hervé Charrin, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the ICC International Centre for Expertise, on the activities of the Centre and by Patrick Hetsch, of the Legal Service of the Commission of the European Communities, on Arbitration and Community law. As interest in pre-arbitral dispute resolution techniques increases, the Centre for Expertise is attracting more and more attention as one of the only such institutions in the world with a truly international and neutral profile. In his article, Mr. Charrin thoughtfully examines the great potential of the Centre and the related implications.

Finally, this issue concludes with extracts from ICC awards relating to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which is giving rise to a rapidly growing body of arbitral jurisprudence.

Eric A Schwartz

Secretary General

ICC International Court of Arbitration