Originally from:
The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration - 2nd Edition - Hardcover
The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration - 2nd Edition - Electronic
CHAPTER 13
INTERNATIONAL ABITRATION
(Conduct of Procedings)
I. PRELIMINARY MEETING
International arbitrators should arrange a preliminary
meeting with counsel for the purpose of organizing the
arbitration proceedings.
In international arbitrations, a preliminary meeting or conference
between the arbitrators and counsel for the parties, whether by telephone or
in person, is particularly desirable to identify and resolve the often divergent
procedural expectations of parties from different cultures and legal systems.
A preliminary meeting may facilitate agreement or at least understanding of
key procedural steps, such as possible bifurcation of issues, document
production, the use of experts, the overall sequence of pleadings and taking
of evidence, and other matters with which the parties may not be familiar.
Such a meeting, preferably in person, also may allow the parties and
arbitrators to establish personal contact, identify key issues, and agree on
procedures and a timetable (to be incorporated in a procedural order) and
conceivably could provide an opportunity for the parties to consider
settlement. Because of the long distances and costs involved, however, an
in-person meeting may not be practical. In such cases, a preliminary
telephone conference with a carefully prepared advance agenda, coupled
with exchanges of correspondence before and after the conference,
normally will suffice.
At the time of the preliminary meeting, it may be advisable for the
arbitrators to call attention to possibilities of settlement, with or without the
assistance of the arbitrators. In addition to scheduling issues, arbitrators
should consider taking up general limitations on disclosure of documents,
including ESI, and the presentation of witnesses at hearings. The CPR
Protocol on Disclosure of Documents and Presentation of Witnesses in
Commercial Arbitration (2008) contains schedules of modes of alternative
approaches to disclosure or witness presentation that the arbitrators may
