From Supreme Court to Arbitrator: A Challenging but Enjoyable Journey

Abstract

I spent twenty-four years of my professional life sitting as a judge before my retirement from that role in 2013. I then turned to sitting as an international arbitrator as a means of occupying some of my spare time during my retirement. 
It was never my intention to become a full-time arbitrator, even if I could attract enough business to make that a possibility. I had various other interesting things to do for which I wanted to remain available. Arbitration was to be, for me, very much a part-time occupation, and so it has remained. But, I have been fortunate enough to receive several appointments over the years since that retirement. So, I have, at least to some extent, been able to adapt to this new role. I was soon to find that, although these two methods of applying one’s mind to resolving disputes may appear to be very similar, there are some significant differences. I found that the path from one role to the other was not quite as easy as it might seem to be.