Extension of Arbitration to the Third Party Relying on the Estoppel Doctrine

Traditionally, lawyers believe that the arbitration agreement may not extend to the third parties by referring to the “privity of contract rule”. Actually in many international cases, there are various opinions about the extension of the arbitration to the persons who never signed the arbitration agreement and they are non-signatories. Estoppel rule as the main element of the “estoppel Doctrine on the extension of arbitration” is one of the most famous legal rules and regulations of the common law system, for years has appeared and illuminated in arbitration issues. Despite the importance of estoppel rule and its prevalence in international proceedings, there are no proper researches about the essence and effects of this rule. This comparative study on extension of arbitration agreement to the third parties with emphasis on the estoppel doctrine is one of the newest and practical issues may be the point of challenges between common law and statutory law legal systems.