INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY LAW 2.1 The concept of arbitration Arbitration, in general, consists of a means of dispute resolution that is characterized by the attribution of the competence to judge them to one or more persons, chosen by the parties themselves or by third parties, whose decisions have the same effectiveness as court decisions. Arbitration is, therefore, “a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties, carried out by one or more persons who hold powers for this purpose recognised by law, but attributed by agreement of the parties2. The concept of arbitration has three fundamental aspects, namely: jurisdictional function, the source from which it arises, and the legal recognition of the awards rendered. The jurisdictional function is clear from the Voluntary Arbitration Law (LAV)3, more specifically from its article 42. As a jurisdictional act is that which settles or resolves a dispute, the arbitration award, to the extent that it effectively resolves a dispute, performs an important jurisdictional function, alongside the judicial courts, here in the sense of courts bound to the State and which, on its behalf, administer justice. Arbitration, as a generic concept, appears in the legal world (and beyond) by reference to a relatively extensive set of activities and meanings. It is therefore important to delimit which arbitration constitutes the basis of our study. Thus, the arbitration we are concerned with is voluntary arbitration and, within this, international commercial arbitration. In other words, the one that has to do with private business (or, if we wish, private economic activity), which arises from a self- -binding commitment on the part of the subject (there is no obligation to submit to arbitration). 2.2 The arbitration agreement The arbitration agreement is the agreement of the parties to submit the resolution of one or more determined or determinable disputes to arbitration, in line with the concept adopted by the New York Convention on the Recognition of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, in its Article 2, paragraph 14. It may, therefore, have as its object a current dispute (arbitration commitment) or potential disputes arising from a particular contractual or non-contractual legal relationship (arbitration clause). The arbitration agreement has autonomy in relation to the 2 Barrocas, 2010, pag. 31. 3 Law n.º 63/2011 of 14 December. 4 “Each signatory State shall recognize the written agreement by which the parties undertake to submit to arbitration all differences which have arisen or which may arise between them with respect to a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not, concerning a matter capable of settlement by arbitration.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==