On 9 September 2013, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) published its 2013 ISDA Arbitration Guide. The decision to introduce optional arbitration clauses for the 1992 and 2002 ISDA Master Agreements follows a consultation process that started in 2011 with ISDA’s memorandum on the use of arbitration under an ISDA Master Agreement.

ISDA’s guide is intended to help users and practitioners when including an arbitration clause in either the 1992 or 2002 versions of the ISDA Master Agreement. The 1992 and 2002 ISDA Master Agreements are the international industry standard agreements for the documentation of derivative transactions traded over-­the-­counter (OTC) rather than on an exchange. The ISDA Master Agreements are widely used around the globe for all types of OTC derivative transactions such as interest rate swaps, foreign exchange derivatives, equity derivatives, credit default swaps, commodity derivatives, etc.