United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently endorsed the use of international arbitration for resolving cross-border conflicts. Citing as an example the 2009 Abyei arbitration which concerned the boundary between North and South Sudan, the Secretary-General described arbitration as one of the most "effective tools" available for strengthening the international legal order, however, he also noted that it is still under utilized. He further went on to encourage parties to look more often to arbitration as a means of resolving cross-border disputes.

The Secretary-General's comments were part of an informational video which discusses the history and work of the  Permanent Court of Arbitration. As the video mentions, the PCA is enjoying one of the busiest periods in its long history, and is continuing to play a key role in areas such as state-to-state arbitration, investor-state arbitration and other types of disputes which involve states or state related entities. While it is not part of the United Nations system, the PCA has permanent observer status at the UN. For those of us who have had the pleasure of working with the PCA, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's positive comments concerning the work of the Permanent Court certainly ring true.

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