Unlike other developing states in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Iraq did not participate in the proliferation of bilateral investment treaties and the widespread adoption of arbitration for the resolution of disputes falling within their scope. As a consequence, in the years since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the end of the US-led occupation, Iraq has had to consider how and on what terms it will participate in this global regime. This paper examines the development of international arbitration as an institution in Iraq with reference to both Iraq’s domestic law and its international commitments.