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Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods 
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration ORGANIZING ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS List of matters for possible consideration in organizing arbitral proceedings PREFACE The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) finalized the Notes at its twenty-ninth session (New York, 28 May - 14 June 1996). In addition to the 36 member States of the Commission, representatives of many other States and of a number of international organizations had participated in the deliberations. In preparing the draft materials, the Secretariat consulted with experts from various legal systems, national arbitration bodies, as well as international professional associations. The Commission, after an initial discussion on the project in 1993,<1> considered in 1994 a draft entitled "Draft Guidelines for Preparatory Conferences in Arbitral Proceedings".<2> That draft was also discussed at several meetings of arbitration practitioners, including the XIIth International Arbitration Congress, held by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) at Vienna from 3 to 6 November 1994.<3> On the basis of those discussions in the Commission and elsewhere, the Secretariat prepared "draft Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings".<4> The Commission considered the draft Notes in 1995,<5> and a revised draft in 1996,<6> when the Notes were finalized.<7> <1> Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its twenty- sixth session, Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/48/17) (reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXIV: 1993, part one), paras. 291-296. <2> The draft Guidelines have been published as document A/CN.9/396/Add.1 (reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXV: 1994, part two, IV); the considerations of the Commission are reflected in the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its twenty-seventh session, Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-ninth Session Supplement No. 17 (A/49/17) (reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, Vol. XXV: 1994, part two, IV), paras. 111-195. <3> The proceedings of the Congress are published in Planning Efficient Arbitration Proceedings/The Law Applicable in International Arbitration, ICCA Congress Series No. 7, Kluwer Law International, The Hague, 1996. <4> The draft Notes have been published as document A/CN.9/410 (and will be reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXVI: 1995, part two, III). <5> Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its twenty- eighth session, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/50/17) (and will be reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXVI: 1995, part one), paras. 314-373. <6> The revised draft Notes have been published as document A/CN.9/423 (and will be reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXVII: 1996, part two). <7> Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its twenty-ninth session, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 17 (A/51/17) (and will be reproduced in UNCITRAL Yearbook, vol. XXVII: 1996, part one), paras. 11 to 54. 1. The purpose of the Notes is to assist arbitration practitioners by listing and briefly describing questions on which appropriately timed decisions on organizing arbitral proceedings may be useful. The text, prepared with a particular view to international arbitrations, may be used whether or not the arbitration is administered by an arbitral institution. Non-binding character of the Notes2. No legal requirement binding on the arbitrators or the parties is imposed by the Notes. The arbitral tribunal remains free to use the Notes as it sees fit and is not required to give reasons for disregarding them. 3. The Notes are not suitable to be used as arbitration rules, since they do not establish any obligation of the arbitral tribunal or the parties to act in a particular way. Accordingly, the use of the Notes cannot imply any modification of the arbitration rules that the parties may have agreed upon. Discretion in conduct of proceedings and usefulness of timely decisions on organizing proceedings4. Laws governing the arbitral procedure and arbitration rules that parties may agree upon typically allow the arbitral tribunal broad discretion and flexibility in the conduct of arbitral proceedings.<8> This is useful in that it enables the arbitral tribunal to take decisions on the organization of proceedings that take into account the circumstances of the case, the expectations of the parties and of the members of the arbitral tribunal, and the need for a just and cost-efficient resolution of the dispute. <8> A prominent example of such rules are the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, which provide in article 15(1): "Subject to these Rules, the arbitral tribunal may conduct the arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate, provided that the parties are treated with equality and that at any stage of the proceedings each party is given a full opportunity of presenting his case." 5. Such discretion may make it desirable for the arbitral tribunal to give the parties a timely indication as to the organization of the proceedings and the manner in which the tribunal intends to proceed. This is particularly desirable in international arbitrations, where the participants may be accustomed to differing styles of conducting arbitrations. Without such guidance, a party may find aspects of the proceedings unpredictable and difficult to prepare for. That may lead to misunderstandings, delays and increased costs. Multi-party arbitration6. These Notes are intended for use not only in arbitrations with two parties but also in arbitrations with three or more parties. Use of the Notes in multi-party arbitration is referred to below in paragraphs 86-88 (item 18). Process of making decisions on organizing arbitral proceedings7. Decisions by the arbitral tribunal on organizing arbitral proceedings may be taken with or without previous consultations with the parties. The method chosen depends on whether, in view of the type of the question to be decided, the arbitral tribunal considers that consultations are not necessary or that hearing the views of the parties would be beneficial for increasing the predictability of the proceedings or improving the procedural atmosphere. 8. The consultations, whether they involve only the arbitrators or also the parties, can be held in one or more meetings, or can be carried out by correspondence or telecommunications such as telefax or conference telephone calls or other electronic means. Meetings may be held at the venue of arbitration or at some other appropriate location. 9. In some arbitrations a special meeting may be devoted exclusively to such procedural consultations; alternatively, the consultations may be held in conjunction with a hearing on the substance of the dispute. Practices differ as to whether such special meetings should be held and how they should be organized. Special procedural meetings of the arbitrators and the parties separate from hearings are in practice referred to by expressions such as "preliminary meeting", "pre-hearing conference", "preparatory conference", "pre-hearing review", or terms of similar meaning. The terms used partly depend on the stage of the proceedings at which the meeting is taking place. List of matters for possible consideration in organizing arbitral proceedings10. The Notes provide a list, followed by annotations, of matters on which the arbitral tribunal may wish to formulate decisions on organizing arbitral proceedings. 11. Given that procedural styles and practices in arbitration vary widely, that the purpose of the Notes is not to promote any practice as best practice, and that the Notes are designed for universal use, it is not attempted in the Notes to describe in detail different arbitral practices or express a preference for any of them. 12. The list, while not exhaustive, covers a broad range of situations that may arise in an arbitration. In many arbitrations, however, only a limited number of the matters mentioned in the list need to be considered. It also depends on the circumstances of the case at which stage or stages of the proceedings it would be useful to consider matters concerning the organization of the proceedings. Generally, in order not to create opportunities for unnecessary discussions and delay, it is advisable not to raise a matter prematurely, i.e. before it is clear that a decision is needed. 13. When the Notes are used, it should be borne in mind that the discretion of the arbitral tribunal in organizing the proceedings may be limited by arbitration rules, by other provisions agreed to by the parties and by the law applicable to the arbitral procedure. When an arbitration is administered by an arbitral institution, various matters discussed in the Notes may be covered by the rules and practices of that institution. LIST OF MATTERS FOR POSSIBLE CONSIDERATION IN ORGANIZING ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS 1. Set of arbitration rules: paras. 14 - 16 If the parties have not agreed on a set of arbitration rules, would they wish to do so: paras. 14 - 16 2. Language of proceedings 17-20
3. Place of arbitration 21-23
meetings outside the place of arbitration 23(b) Possibility of 4. Administrative services that may be needed for the arbitral tribunal to carry out its functions 24-27 5. Deposits in respect of costs 28-30
6. Confidentiality of information relating to the arbitration; possible agreement thereon 31-32 7. Routing of written communications among the parties and the arbitrators 33-34 8. Telefax and other electronic means of sending documents 35-37 (a) Telefax 35 (b) Other electronic means (e.g. electronic mail and magnetic or optical disk) 36-37 9. Arrangements for the exchange of written submissions 38-41 (a) Scheduling of written submissions 39-40 (b) Consecutive or simultaneous submissions 41 10. Practical details concerning written submissions and evidence (e.g. method of submission, copies, numbering, references) 42 11. Defining points at issue; order of deciding issues; defining relief or remedy sought 43-46 (a) Should a list of points at issue be prepared 43 (b) In which order should the points at issue be decided 44-45 (c) Is there a need to define more precisely the relief or remedy sought 46 12. Possible settlement negotiations and their effect on scheduling proceedings 47 13. Documentary evidence 48-54 (a) Time-limits for submission of documentary evidence intended to be submitted by the parties; consequences of late submission 48-49 (b) Whether the arbitral tribunal intends to require a party to produce documentary evidence 50-51 (c) Should assertions about the origin and receipt of documents and about the correctness of photocopies be assumed as accurate 52 (d) Are the parties willing to submit jointly a single set of documentary evidence 53 (e) Should voluminous and complicated documentary evidence be presented through summaries, tabulations, charts, extracts or samples 54 14. Physical evidence other than documents 55-58 (a) What arrangements should be made if physical evidence will be submitted 56 (b) What arrangements should be made if an on-site inspection is necessary 57-58 15. Witnesses 59-68 (a) Advance notice about a witness whom a party intends to present; written witnesses' statements 60-62 (b) Manner of taking oral evidence of witnesses 63-65 (i) Order in which questions will be asked and the manner in which the hearing of witnesses will be conducted 63 (ii) Whether oral testimony will be given under oath or affirmation and, if so, in what form an oath or affirmation should be made 64 (iii) May witnesses be in the hearing room when they are not testifying 65 (c) The order in which the witnesses will be called 66 (d) Interviewing witnesses prior to their appearance at a hearing 67 (e) Hearing representatives of a party 68 16. Experts and expert witnesses 69-73 (a) Expert appointed by the arbitral tribunal 70-72 (i) The expert's terms of reference 71 (ii) The opportunity of the parties to comment on the expert's report, including by presenting expert testimony 72 (b) Expert opinion presented by a party (expert witness) 73 17. Hearings 74-85 (a) Decision whether to hold hearings 74-75 (b) Whether one period of hearings should be held or separate periods of hearings 76 (c) Setting dates for hearings 77 (d) Whether there should be a limit on the aggregate amount of time each party will have for oral arguments and questioning witnesses 78-79 (e) The order in which the parties will present their arguments and evidence 80 (f) Length of hearings 81 (g) Arrangements for a record of the hearings 82-83 (h) Whether and when the parties are permitted to submit notes summarizing their oral arguments 84-85 18. Multi-party arbitration 86-88 19. Possible requirements concerning filing or delivering the award 89-90 Who should take steps to fulfil any requirement 90 If the parties have not agreed on a set of arbitration rules, would they wish to do so 14. Sometimes parties who have not included in their arbitration agreement a stipulation that a set of arbitration rules will govern their arbitral proceedings might wish to do so after the arbitration has begun. If that occurs, the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules may be used either without modification or with such modifications as the parties might wish to agree upon. In the alternative, the parties might wish to adopt the rules of an arbitral institution; in that case, it may be necessary to secure the agreement of that institution and to stipulate the terms under which the arbitration could be carried out in accordance with the rules of that institution. 15. However, caution is advised as consideration of a set of arbitration rules might delay the proceedings or give rise to unnecessary controversy. 16. It should be noted that agreement on arbitration rules is not a necessity and that, if the parties do not agree on a set of arbitration rules, the arbitral tribunal has the power to continue the proceedings and determine how the case will be conducted. 2. Language of proceedings17. Many rules and laws on arbitral procedure empower the arbitral tribunal to determine the language or languages to be used in the proceedings, if the parties have not reached an agreement thereon.
18. Some documents annexed to the statements of claim and defence or submitted later may not be in the language of the proceedings. Bearing in mind the needs of the proceedings and economy, it may be considered whether the arbitral tribunal should order that any of those documents or parts thereof should be accompanied by a translation into the language of the proceedings.
19. If interpretation will be necessary during oral hearings, it is advisable to consider whether the interpretation will be simultaneous or consecutive and whether the arrangements should be the responsibility of a party or the arbitral tribunal. In an arbitration administered by an institution, interpretation as well as translation services are often arranged by the arbitral institution.
20. In taking decisions about translation or interpretation, it is advisable to decide whether any or all of the costs are to be paid directly by a party or whether they will be paid out of the deposits and apportioned between the parties along with the other arbitration costs. 3. Place of arbitration
21. Arbitration rules usually allow the parties to agree on the place of arbitration, subject to the requirement of some arbitral institutions that arbitrations under their rules be conducted at a particular place, usually the location of the institution. If the place has not been so agreed upon, the rules governing the arbitration typically provide that it is in the power of the arbitral tribunal or the institution administering the arbitration to determine the place. If the arbitral tribunal is to make that determination, it may wish to hear the views of the parties before doing so. 22.Various factual and legal factors influence the choice of the place of arbitration, and their relative importance varies from case to case. Among the more prominent factors are: (a) suitability of the law on arbitral procedure of the place of arbitration; (b) whether there is a multilateral or bilateral treaty on enforcement of arbitral awards between the State where the arbitration takes place and the State or States where the award may have to be enforced; (c) convenience of the parties and the arbitrators, including the travel distances; (d) availability and cost of support services needed; and (e) location of the subject-matter in dispute and proximity of evidence.
23. Many sets of arbitration rules and laws on arbitral procedure expressly allow the arbitral tribunal to hold meetings elsewhere than at the place of arbitration. For example, under the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration "the arbitral tribunal may, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, meet at any place it considers appropriate for consultation among its members, for hearing witnesses, experts or the parties, or for inspection of goods, other property or documents" (article 20(2)). The purpose of this discretion is to permit arbitral proceedings to be carried out in a manner that is most efficient and economical. 4. Administrative services that may be needed for the arbitral tribunal to carry out its functions24. Various administrative services (e.g. hearing rooms or secretarial services) may need to be procured for the arbitral tribunal to be able to carry out its functions. When the arbitration is administered by an arbitral institution, the institution will usually provide all or a good part of the required administrative support to the arbitral tribunal. When an arbitration administered by an arbitral institution takes place away from the seat of the institution, the institution may be able to arrange for administrative services to be obtained from another source, often an arbitral institution; some arbitral institutions have entered into cooperation agreements with a view to providing mutual assistance in servicing arbitral proceedings. 25. When the case is not administered by an institution, or the involvement of the institution does not include providing administrative support, usually the administrative arrangements for the proceedings will be made by the arbitral tribunal or the presiding arbitrator; it may also be acceptable to leave some of the arrangements to the parties, or to one of the parties subject to agreement of the other party or parties. Even in such cases, a convenient source of administrative support might be found in arbitral institutions, which often offer their facilities to arbitrations not governed by the rules of the institution. Otherwise, some services could be procured from entities such as chambers of commerce, hotels or specialized firms providing secretarial or other support services. 26. Administrative services might be secured by engaging a secretary of the arbitral tribunal (also referred to as registrar, clerk, administrator or rapporteur), who carries out the tasks under the direction of the arbitral tribunal. Some arbitral institutions routinely assign such persons to the cases administered by them. In arbitrations not administered by an institution or where the arbitral institution does not appoint a secretary, some arbitrators frequently engage such persons, at least in certain types of cases, whereas many others normally conduct the proceedings without them. 27. To the extent the tasks of the secretary are purely organizational (e.g. obtaining meeting rooms and providing or coordinating secretarial services), this is usually not controversial. Differences in views, however, may arise if the tasks include legal research and other professional assistance to the arbitral tribunal (e.g. collecting case law or published commentaries on legal issues defined by the arbitral tribunal, preparing summaries from case law and publications, and sometimes also preparing drafts of procedural decisions or drafts of certain parts of the award, in particular those concerning the facts of the case). Views or expectations may differ especially where a task of the secretary is similar to professional functions of the arbitrators. Such a role of the secretary is in the view of some commentators inappropriate or is appropriate only under certain conditions, such as that the parties agree thereto. However, it is typically recognized that it is important to ensure that the secretary does not perform any decision-making function of the arbitral tribunal. 5. Deposits in respect of costs
28. In an arbitration administered by an institution, the institution often sets, on the basis of an estimate of the costs of the proceedings, the amount to be deposited as an advance for the costs of the arbitration. In other cases it is customary for the arbitral tribunal to make such an estimate and request a deposit. The estimate typically includes travel and other expenses by the arbitrators, expenditures for administrative assistance required by the arbitral tribunal, costs of any expert advice required by the arbitral tribunal, and the fees for the arbitrators. Many arbitration rules have provisions on this matter, including on whether the deposit should be made by the two parties (or all parties in a multi-party case) or only by the claimant.
29.When the arbitration is administered by an institution, the institution's services may include managing and accounting for the deposited money. Where that is not the case, it might be useful to clarify matters such as the type and location of the account in which the money will be kept and how the deposits will be managed.
30. If during the course of proceedings it emerges that the costs will be higher than anticipated, supplementary deposits may be required (e.g. because the arbitral tribunal decides pursuant to the arbitration rules to appoint an expert). 6. Confidentiality of information relating to the arbitration; possible agreement thereon31. It is widely viewed that confidentiality is one of the advantageous and helpful features of arbitration. Nevertheless, there is no uniform answer in national laws as to the extent to which the participants in an arbitration are under the duty to observe the confidentiality of information relating to the case. Moreover, parties that have agreed on arbitration rules or other provisions that do not expressly address the issue of confidentiality cannot assume that all jurisdictions would recognize an implied commitment to confidentiality. Furthermore, the participants in an arbitration might not have the same understanding as regards the extent of confidentiality that is expected. Therefore, the arbitral tribunal might wish to discuss that with the parties and, if considered appropriate, record any agreed principles on the duty of confidentiality. 32. An agreement on confidentiality might cover, for example, one or more of the following matters: the material or information that is to be kept confidential (e.g. pieces of evidence, written and oral arguments, the fact that the arbitration is taking place, identity of the arbitrators, content of the award); measures for maintaining confidentiality of such information and hearings; whether any special procedures should be employed for maintaining the confidentiality of information transmitted by electronic means (e.g. because communication equipment is shared by several users, or because electronic mail over public networks is considered not sufficiently protected against unauthorized access); circumstances in which confidential information may be disclosed in part or in whole (e.g. in the context of disclosures of information in the public domain, or if required by law or a regulatory body). 7. Routing of written communications among the parties and the arbitrators33. To the extent the question how documents and other written communications should be routed among the parties and the arbitrators is not settled by the agreed rules, or, if an institution administers the case, by the practices of the institution, it is useful for the arbitral tribunal to clarify the question suitably early so as to avoid misunderstandings and delays. 34. Among various possible patterns of routing, one example is that a party transmits the appropriate number of copies to the arbitral tribunal, or to the arbitral institution, if one is involved, which then forwards them as appropriate. Another example is that a party is to send copies simultaneously to the arbitrators and the other party or parties. Documents and other written communications directed by the arbitral tribunal or the presiding arbitrator to one or more parties may also follow a determined pattern, such as through the arbitral institution or by direct transmission. For some communications, in particular those on organizational matters (e.g. dates for hearings), more direct routes of communication may be agreed, even if, for example, the arbitral institution acts as an intermediary for documents such as the statements of claim and defence, evidence or written arguments. 8. Telefax and other electronic means of sending documents
35. Telefax, which offers many advantages over traditional means of communication, is widely used in arbitral proceedings. Nevertheless, should it be thought that, because of the characteristics of the equipment used, it would be preferable not to rely only on a telefacsimile of a document, special arrangements may be considered, such as that a particular piece of written evidence should be mailed or otherwise physically delivered, or that certain telefax messages should be confirmed by mailing or otherwise delivering documents whose facsimile were transmitted by electronic means. When a document should not be sent by telefax, it may, however, be appropriate, in order to avoid an unnecessarily rigid procedure, for the arbitral tribunal to retain discretion to accept an advance copy of a document by telefax for the purposes of meeting a deadline, provided that the document itself is received within a reasonable time thereafter.
36. It might be agreed that documents, or some of them, will be exchanged not only in paper-based form, but in addition also in an electronic form other than telefax (e.g. as electronic mail, or on a magnetic or optical disk), or only in electronic form. Since the use of electronic means depends on the aptitude of the persons involved and the availability of equipment and computer programs, agreement is necessary for such means to be used. If both paper-based and electronic means are to be used, it is advisable to decide which one is controlling and, if there is a time-limit for submitting a document, which act constitutes submission. 37. When the exchange of documents in electronic form is planned, it is useful, in order to avoid technical difficulties, to agree on matters such as: data carriers (e.g. electronic mail or computer disks) and their technical characteristics; computer programs to be used in preparing the electronic records; instructions for transforming the electronic records into human-readable form; keeping of logs and back-up records of communications sent and received; information in human-readable form that should accompany the disks (e.g. the names of the originator and recipient, computer program, titles of the electronic files and the back-up methods used); procedures when a message is lost or the communication system otherwise fails; and identification of persons who can be contacted if a problem occurs.
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