disputed relationship, inquiring about the connections that it presents with diferent state laws in order to subject it to the law of the state where these connections are predominant. In addition to the law applicable to the solution of the problem, the parties (or the arbitrators, in their silence) may also choose the procedural rules that best ft the problem or that best ensure the pursuit of the ultimate goal of any dispute resolution: justice. This important feature of the arbitral process is not always respected and there is a clear tendency to apply codifed rules of procedure, due to an imperfect concept of arbitration and a lack of knowledge of its independence from state jurisdiction. In matters of contracts, the area most often submitted to arbitrators, it is of great importance the possibility of arbitrators taking into account the material result of the application to the individual case of the various rights connected with the dispute, by application of the principle of favor negotii, the cornerstone of Private International Law. For example, arbitrators are given the possibility of considering, among the possible legal systems, the only one which holds the contract in question as valid as the most appropriate for resolving the dispute. Arbitration also allows international trade usages to be taken into account. This last advantage assumes particular relevance for countries like Portugal, where common law is only in very special cases considered a source of law, i.e. a way of formation and revelation of legal rules. In the words of Dário Vicente "in international arbitration, arbitrators may take 8 international trade usage into consideration in two situations: if the parties have expressly referred to it in the contract or in the arbitration agreement and it is not incompatible with the mandatory rules of the law applicable to the material relationship in dispute, but it can never be the sole criterion for assessing the subject matter of the dispute in international arbitration; if the parties have not said anything about it, usage can still be taken into consideration by the arbitrators as elements of interpretation and integration of the parties' negotiating statements". It is also important to mention that the international arbitration regime is also distinguished by the possibility, foreseen in article 39, paragraph 3 of the LAV, for the arbitrators, if the parties have entrusted them with this function, to decide disputes submitted to them "by resorting to the composition of the parties on the basis of the balance of the interests at stake". Portuguese law thus expressly enshrines the admissibility of the so-called amicable settlement, a fgure whose outlines are not yet well defned, but to which most authors and market players attribute great potential. Through this mechanism a dispute is judged in an attempt to obtain a solution that is accepted by both parties as a fair decision, capable of favouring the continuation of the commercial relations between them. In other words, the case is judged less bound by established law and more attentive to the specifcs of the concrete case. Finally, another feature of arbitration that has promoted much of its success with transnational companies should also be highlighted: the confdentiality of proceedings and decisions. In fact, unlike state justice systems, which are public by nature, arbitrations are confdential. This characteristic is extremely important, since litigation, although often necessary, does not favour other Vicente, 2004, pag. 4. 8 8
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