Pacific Settlement of Disputes in East Asia: Inter-State Arbitration and Judicial Diplomacy

Resolution of economic disputes are well established in East Asia where economic growth and prosperity are common goals among the nations. However, other types of disputes have long plagued among East Asian countries. These include conflicts that have deep historical roots, or ones that involve state sovereignty, territorial disputes, and claims deriving from historical wrongs. These issues have harmed the regional security in East Asia for a long time, threatened its peace and security and hindered further progress, thus putting tension on the diplomatic relations among the East Asian countries. Attempts to resolve these disputes via politics or diplomacy have not been much successful. Compliance of the outcome of the dispute might prove to be challenging if the losing party decides that the benefit of resisting the unfavored outcome outweighs the cost of reputational harm.

Eun-Young Park will present that, despite the difficulty, such disputes can be resolved fairly, provided that an independent neutral dispute resolution mechanism is securely in place. In this model, the states themselves voluntarily submit their disputes to a neutral third party capable of making fair and equitable decisions on the merits of the cases before it. There are advantages in opting for the region-wide system of independent and neutral dispute resolution in handling the Gordian Knot that is the complex and difficult problem of sovereignty and history of conflicts in East Asia. He will explore the possibility of establishing an inter-state arbitration system based on the fact that the East Asian countries already possess a good deal of social and legal capital that is readily applicable in resolving sensitive transnational disputes. He will also touch upon a permanent arbitral or claims tribunal in East Asia to deal with claims arising out of the Korean Unification; a monumental event after which much chaos—legal and otherwise—will most certainly ensue. Establishing a system of international dispute resolution system in East Asia is certain to pave the way in forming the East Asian legal community in which claims and grievances may be adjudicated fairly and brought without escalating political tensions among countries.

Eun-Young Park is Vice President of the London Court of International Arbitration and currently a visiting scholar at Stanford Asia-Pacific Research Center. Previously, he served as a Judge in the Seoul District Court of Republic of Korea. After leaving the bench, he has advised Korean Financial Supervisory Commission in establishing governance system in the public and private sector under the auspices of the World Bank and the IMF as a result of IMF bail-out of Korea during the Asian Financial Crisis. He has practiced law at Kim & Chang as a partner and Co-Chair of the International Arbitration and Litigation Practice Group, and focused on international dispute resolution including trade sanctions, transnational litigation, and international arbitration. He has served as a board member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and is currently a member of the Court of Arbitration of the SIAC. He has taught in various universities including Sungkyunkwan University School of Law as an adjunct professor. He holds a J.S.D. and L.L.M. from NYU School of Law, and is admitted to the New York Bar, the Korean Bar, and the Singapore International Commercial Court.