Aristocrats in Arbitration: Did Class Affect Inter-state Arbitration Before or After the 1899 Hague Peace Conference?

Abstract

This article explores whether the aristocratic status of arbitrators or disputants affected the outcome of inter-state arbitrations either before or after the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. This article takes a longue durée approach to the topic by including all inter-state arbitrations between 1794 and 1989. The research shows a statistically significant relationship between respondent-appointed aristocratic arbitrators on a tribunal and the outcome against the aristocratic party, as well as a statistically significant relationship between no respondent-appointed aristocratic arbitrators and outcome in favor of the claimant, but only in inter-state arbitrations before the Conference for both of these relationships. This article brings into question whether aristocratic arbitrators from before the Conference were fully committed to the international rule of law. Moreover, it highlights how such arbitrators stopped making their decisions based on class after the Conference, which should reassure users of inter-state arbitration that worry about such biases.