(a) In the application of this title, regard is to be had to its international origin and to the need to promote uniformity in its application and the observance of good faith.
§ 1297.20.Uniformity In Application and Observance of Good Faith
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 1. Application and Interpretation · Article 2. Interpretation · Enacted 1903 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.20 directs that this title be applied with regard to its international origin, promoting uniformity and good faith, and requires gaps not expressly settled in the title to be filled using its own general underlying principles.
Full Text of § 1297.20
(b) Questions concerning matters governed by this title that are not expressly settled in it are to be settled in conformity with the general principles embodied in this title.
Plain-English Summary
Because this title tracks an internationally recognized model rather than a homegrown California statute, this section tells courts to keep that origin in mind. Applying the title should promote uniformity with how similar laws are applied elsewhere and should reflect good faith, rather than being read through a purely local lens.
The section also supplies its own gap-filling instruction. When a question comes up that the title does not expressly resolve, the answer is not found by importing outside rules wholesale; it comes from the general principles already embodied in the title itself, extending its own internal logic to situations it does not address in so many words.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this section mention the title's international origin?
Because the title is meant to be applied consistently with similar laws used internationally, not interpreted in isolation from that broader context.
What happens when this title does not expressly address a question?
The gap is filled using the general principles embodied in the title itself, rather than by resorting to unrelated outside law.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2024 ch 90 (AB 1903),s 2, eff. 1/1/2025.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: interpretation international arbitration title californiagap filling international arbitration statute