An arbitration clause is the contract term under which the parties' dispute will be heard by an arbitration tribunal instead of a court. The Law of Georgia on Arbitration imposes precise form requirements on this clause and leaves to the parties those decisions that shape the entire architecture of the proceedings. This page examines Article 8 of the law — the concept and form of the arbitration agreement, Article 10 — the number of arbitrators, Article 25 — the place of the arbitration, and Article 29 — the language of the proceedings.
The Concept of the Arbitration Agreement and the Writing Requirement
Under Article 8, an arbitration agreement is an agreement by which the parties agree to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or may arise between them out of a contractual or other legal relationship. It may be concluded in the contract as an arbitration clause or in the form of a separate agreement, and it must be concluded in writing. The writing requirement is satisfied where the content of the agreement is recorded in any form, irrespective of the form in which the contract or the agreement itself is concluded. The requirement is also fulfilled by an electronic message, provided that the information contained in it is accessible for subsequent use.