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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, hearing before the French working group on the modernisation of French Arbitration Law, about the issue Arbitrage et Droit de la Compliance : est-il besoin d'un texte ? ("Arbitration and Compliance Law: is a text required?"), Directorate of Civil Affairs' French Ministry of Justice, 13 February 2025.

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► Result of this presentation and the ensuing discussion, recorded in the working group's report published in March 2025 (published in French, translated her: "This report on the guiding principles would not be complete without mentioning the discussions in the working group on the introduction of a guiding principle requiring the arbitral tribunal to take into account "human, environmental and compliance issues, as well as respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the parties".This proposal gave rise to particularly heated discussions. Some saw it as a scarecrow likely to make French Arbitration Law less attractive and to weaken Arbitration awards, opening up cases of recourse on the pretext of bad faith, even though these values would already be taken into account in the review of domestic or international public policy.  Others, on the other hand, felt that such a text would have the advantage of enshrining an Arbitration Law connected to values that are not exclusively economically oriented, pointing out, moreover, that such a principle would not be redundant with the control of public policy, which intervenes ex post, whereas this text imposes Ex Ante responsability, and that this principle would allow a noteworthy introduction of Compliance Law in rbitration.  They added that the promotion of such values could make it possible to demonstrate a commitment to virtuous arbitration practice. In the light of these differences, after much hesitation, the decision was made not to include it in the draft Code, considering that the final choice was more a question of political dimension that the working group felt it could not decide on its own. ". (p. 36).

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► English Summary of the presentation: My presentation deals with the relationship between Compliance Law and Arbitration, particularly International Arbitration. It is built around 12 successive points. The work I have carried out on these various points is associated with it. It precedes the answers I shall give to the questions put by the members of the working group and the ensuing discussion.

1. stagnation in the relationship between Arbitration and Compliance Law, due to continuing misunderstandings about Compliance

2. progress towards a better understanding of Compliance and the appropriateness of the arbitrator's role within Compliance Law

3. prospects for the growing relationship between Compliance Law and Arbitration, particularly with regard to the value chains built up by international companies

4. educational issues

5. time required to build a "culture of place" in this matter

6. "Doctrinal" difficulties

7. benefit from the production of a "doctrine of place" on this subject

8. going beyond the continental summa divisio of Public Law and Private Law

9. practical assimilation of Regulatory Contracts in sustainable sectors and chains

10. opening up the Arbitration World to this articulation with Compliance Law

11.  Can an official legal text contribute to this?

12.  example of the guiding principles of the French Code of Civil Procedure.

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