PROCEDURAL ORDERS 2.0 FOR VIRTUAL ARBITRATION
In under a year, a virus provoked the fastest and most significant contraction of the global economy in modern history. The choice of how we run businesses was taken away from us. Many industries had to create new ‘work at home’ policies for their employees in a hurry in order to counteract a pandemic that affects mobility and persons’ ability to meet face to face. Empowering our workforce and processes to operate virtually is now a necessity and dispute resolution is no exception. In particular, international arbitration practitioners, often living in between plane journeys, were forced to adapt to these exceptional circumstances by rapidly adopting digital technologies.
During the early stages of the pandemic, most arbitration proceedings were postponed until later in the year as many thought the virus would wither and die much sooner. By midsummer, however, people started to realise that there would be no quick fix. As such, some parties and tribunals agreed to move to virtual proceedings to ensure business continuity. At that time, most others still thought that the nature of the virus would make it a transient hiccup in the process and that they would be able to reconvene in person a few months later. However, this proved to be wishful thinking.
Due to COVID-19, virtual arbitration is now much more commonplace and best practices on how to handle virtual proceedings are plenty. Specialty firms such as Opus2 and FTI are rolling out all-inclusive technology packages. The British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre (BVI IAC) even ran a live virtual hearing webinar to demonstrate how systems work in real time, including live transcripts and electronic exhibits. Leading arbitral institutions have issued ‘virtual practice’ guidelines and many provide the technology platforms as well as support for the conduct of those virtual hearings. However, many parties and tribunals remain resistant to change. Despite what one may read in the press, many arbitrations are still on hold. Virtual arbitration, and in particular virtual hearings, remains the appanage of sophisticated parties, tribunals and jurisdictions.
Jan-Mar 2021 issue
BVI International Arbitration Centre