Arbitration on the rise for cross-border disputes https://www.ft.

com/content/bf0bc638-1baf-11e7-a266-12672483791a

Parties embroiled in cross-border legal disputes are increasingly pressing for arbitration
centres to offer them quicker hearing dates, a study shows.

Some global centres for arbitration such as London and Singapore are receiving and
agreeing to more requests for expedited proceedings, the research by White & Case, the
law firm, suggests.

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (https://www.ft.com/content/704c5458-

e79a-11e5-a09b-1f8b0d268c39) received 69 requests for expedited proceedings in 2015 of
which 27 were accepted. This compares with 44 requests in 2014 of which 23 were
accepted.

In the London Court of International Arbitration, 30 such applications were made and 12
were granted in 2015. This compares with 10 applications in 2014 of which three were
granted.

The International Chamber of Commerce has amended its arbitration rules to incorporate
a set of expedited procedure rules for smaller claims.

International arbitration is an increasingly popular method for companies and sovereign

states to solve legal disputes, rather than heading for the courtroom.

Arbitration can be attractive because cases are heard behind closed doors, rather than in
the glare of publicity. Arbitration is also seen as more likely to be free of political influence,
can be cheaper and parties can choose their own arbitrators to hear the case who can be
British High Court judges or industry experts.

However, the White & Case research also shows that, despite the work being done on
expedited hearings, more needs be done to reduce timeframes for arbitral awards and
associated costs.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a division of the
World Bank, reported that it took generally three to four years for an award to be issued in
an ICSID arbitration.

In 2015, the ICC reported an average of 25 months for an award to be issued and the LCIA
reported an average of 20 months between January 2013 and June 2015.

The SIAC indicated a mean of 13.8 months for the period between April 2013 and July
2016.

Paul Friedland, global head of international arbitration practice at White & Case, said
arbitral institutions were adapting to what the parties wanted in the form of expedited
hearings.

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Arbitration on the rise for cross-border disputes https://www.ft.com/content/bf0bc638-1baf-11e7-a266-12672483791a

The demand for expedition and efficiency does not change the fact that parties are
continuing to embrace international arbitration to resolve large, complex cross-border
disputes.

The changes introduced by arbitral institutions show responsiveness to users

expectations that arbitration should be efficient and cost-effective, he said.

The research also showed that arbitral institutions were making more efforts to appoint
more women arbitrators. Female arbitrators appointed by the SIAC in 2015 constituted
nearly a quarter of all appointments and at the ICSID 16 per cent were women in 2015
an almost 50 per cent increase over 2014.

White & Case analysed data from 10 arbitration centres around the world.

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