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The expedited arbitration under 72nd session of the working group II – The solution to the efficiency of arbitration

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The solution to the efficiency of arbitration

From 21 September 2020 until 25 September 2020, the 72nd Session of the Working Group II (“WG II”) is taking place to discuss a Revised Draft of the expedited arbitration provisions (“Revised Draft”).

The UNCITRAL at its 51st Session gave the WG II the mandate to develop proposals that can enhance the efficiency of arbitration and ensure the quality of the proceedings. This mandate reflects the reality that arbitration is increasingly criticised for, among other things, being too lengthy and time-consuming. Moreover, the legitimacy of arbitration is more frequently questioned. Therefore, the UNCITRAL directed the WG II to take up issues relating to expedited arbitration to respond to this criticism.

In general, expedited arbitration is considered to be particularly appropriate for small disputes. It is a simplified form of proceedings and already introduced by a number of arbitral institutions. There is a variety of features permitting to expedite the arbitral proceedings – for example, providing for sole arbitrator instead of a panel of three, reducing the time limits for the various actions related to the proceedings, reducing the number of submissions, etc.

According to the Revised Draft, the express consent of the parties is the only triggering factor for the expedited arbitration to be applied (draft provision 1), however, the WG II is discussing if and where guidance could be offered to parties on when to refer a dispute to expedited arbitration. At the same time, The WG II is currently taking into account the following issues: (i) the complexity of the transactions and the number of parties involved; (ii) the need to hold hearings; (iii) the possibility of joinder or consolidation; and (iv) the likelihood of an award being rendered with the provided time frames.

Individuals who are interested in the expedited arbitration could refer to the Revised Draft of the WG II and Comments on the Revised Draft of expedited arbitration made by Mr. Tony Nguyen – Founding Partner of EPLegal.

Further information can be found here:

Revised Draft of Expedited Arbitration

Comments on the Revised Draft of Expedited Arbitration