the proceedings, the general management of the proceedings, which includes making the necessary notifcations, among others, may be entrusted, right in the arbitration clause and by agreement, to an arbitration centre. This arbitration centre has no power to decide the dispute, since this competence is always exclusive to the arbitrators, but only facilitates the way in which the arbitrators carry out their judging function. This type of arbitration is called "institutional" or "institutionalised" arbitration. Unlike this, so-called ad hoc arbitration pursues the same goals as institutional arbitration but does not beneft from any institutional support. All the work, starting with the appointment of the arbitrators, falls on the parties and, in the worst-case scenario, that is, if no consensus is reached in the initial phase of arbitration, the emerging dispute will have to be decided by the courts, thus losing most of the advantages that were intended to achieve with the introduction of the arbitration clause. In these cases, all the work of organising and conducting the proceedings is carried out by the arbitrators, which may jeopardise the intended swiftness of the decision. 2.6 Internal arbitration Domestic arbitration is that which operates within a particular legal system, usually coinciding with the State/Nation. Here, arbitration replaces, in a direct and regulated manner, the courts of that State, promoting the celerity of decisions. In the feld of internal arbitration, issues are much easier to equate and resolve, since we are in a single legal space. The parties are given the possibility to deviate from the ordinary courts, but the arbitrators normally apply the body of law in force in that State, except in cases of decisions made in equity. Equity is a legal fgure of reasonable complexity and therefore also lends itself to several misunderstandings. Equity is a formal criterion for deciding concrete cases and is thus opposed to the legal rule, which is a material criterion for deciding concrete cases. In practical terms, and with reference to the Portuguese legal system, the decision-maker is bound by the law and the legal rules contained therein. A decision according to equity is only possible if and when the legal rule allows it. Equity refers, therefore, to an idea of justice of the concrete case, to be decided ponderously by the judge, but only when an enabling legal rule allows it. This limitation disappears in arbitration, as the parties may voluntarily agree to submit the resolution of their dispute to criteria of equity and thus achieve the fairest possible outcome to the dispute. 2.7 International arbitration International or transnational arbitration, as some authors prefer to call it , is 7 that which puts into play the interests of international trade or, in another formulation, the interests of distinct national legal orders. The object of international arbitration will therefore be disputes arising from economic operations involving the movement of goods, services or capital across borders. When conducted in Portugal, arbitrations that fall within this concept are subject to the special regime established by Articles 49 et seq. of the LAV, Pinheiro, 2005, pag. 23. 7 5
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