INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
KE Y CHANGES IN THE LCI A’ S NEW ARBI TRAT ION RULES
The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has recently adopted a new set of arbitration rules, whichwill come into effect on 1 October 2014. The new rules aim to ensure an effective, efficient and fair process. The LCIA reports that its newDirector General, Dr Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof, thanked those who contributed to a “meticulous and thoughtful drafting process, which has led to a balanced set of Rules.” This piece discusses some of themain changes introduced by the new rules. EMERGENCY ARBITRATOR The new rules provide that in case of emergency, a party can apply for the appointment of a temporary sole arbitrator in advance of the formation of the tribunal. Specific grounds for requiring the emergency appointment must be set out, and, if the party’s application is successful, the LCIA Court will appoint the emergency arbitrator within three days from receipt of the application. The emergency arbitrator will then decide the claimas soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after his appointment. He is not required to hold a hearing and can decide the claimon the basis of the documents available if he deems this appropriate. The new rules have reinforced the procedures for the expedited formation of the tribunal and a replacement arbitrator. Emergency arbitrator provisions bring the LCIA into line withmany other arbitral institutions which have introduced similar provisions in recent years. LCIA users no longer need to resort to local courts for emergency relief before the formation of the tribunal. COUNSEL AND PART Y CONDUCT An explicit provision has been added to the new rules that from the tribunal’s formation onwards, no party shall initiate contact relating to the arbitration or the parties’ dispute with anymember of the tribunal or the LCIA Court (excluding the Registrar), unless this has been disclosed inwriting to all other parties, all members of the tribunal and, where appropriate, the Registrar. Under the new rules, where a partywishes to change or add to its counsel after formation of the tribunal, the approval of the tribunal is required. This approval may be withheldwhere the change or addition could compromise the composition of the tribunal, or the finality of any award. Factors such as the stage the arbitration has reached, and the likelywasted costs or loss of time resulting from the change will be considered. General guidelines for the parties’ legal representatives have been added to the new rules as an annex. Counsel must complywith the guidelines as a condition of appearing by name before the tribunal. If a legal representative is found to have breached the guidelines, the tribunal can issue awritten reprimand; awritten caution as to future conduct in the arbitration; or take any other measure necessary tomaintain the general duties of the tribunal. Given the often international scope of LCIA arbitrations, these guidelines will serve as a common denominator in circumstances where the parties originate fromcountries that do not have similar obligations in an applicable professional code. The International Bar Association’s Guidelines on Party Representationwere published inMay 2013 but the LCIA is the first arbitral institution to propose a set of guidelines for party representatives. A comparison of both sets of guidelines shows how this aspect of international arbitration is developing.
BY KHALED MOYEED AND CL ARE MONTGOMERY, A SSOCIATES AT CLYDE & CO
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