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Appendix 23 - ASA Special Series No. 43 Confidential and Restricted Access Information in International Arbitration

Author(s): 
ASA - Swiss Arbitration Association
Page Count: 
2 pages
Published: 
February, 2016

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Description: 
 
Appendix 23

Procedural order (excerpt) [order on the protection of confidential information in the framework of document production and on the setting-up of an electronic data-room]
 
Contexte :
Le Tribunal Arbitral a désigné un expert qui va organiser une visite
des lieux (à laquelle le Tribunal ne sera pas présent).
L’expert a demandé à pouvoir examiner les plans de conception de
l’installation qui va être visitée et le Demandeur souhaite que ces
plans, qu’il estime confidentiels et qui sont expressément visés par une
clause précisant qu’il conserve l’intégralité des droits de propriété
intellectuelle y relatifs, ne soient pas communiqués au Défendeur. Le
Défendeur proteste et estime que le principe du contradictoire et ses
droits de la défense seraient violés si les plans ne lui étaient pas
communiqués.
Extrait du P.O :
The most delicate issue is the production of design documents, in respect of
which the Tribunal must find a solution capable to balance the two conflicting
rights invoked by the Parties, namely the Respondent’s right to an exhaustive
contradictoire and to a real opportunity to present its case, and the
Claimant’s right not to divulge propriety information including protected
documents and drawings.
After careful consideration, the Tribunal finds that a balanced solution is the
organization of data room at the site, made available by the Respondent under
the Expert’s supervision, where the Respondent’s technicians must be given
the opportunity to examine the Claimant’s design documents requested by
and shown to the Expert. The Expert is invited to take care that sufficient time
be given to the Respondent for the examination and that no copy be taken by
the Respondent’s participants. Obviously, the Respondent is bound to strict
confidentiality in respect of any information so acquired and, if the Claimant
so wishes, it has the right to obtain from Respondent an ad hoc confidentiality
undertaking.
The Tribunal clarifies that the present solution is adopted on an interim basis,
given the proximity of the site visit, and reserves to revert back to the matter
depending on the results of the visit as reported by the Expert to the Tribunal
and, in particular, on the resulting relevance of the design documents for the
resolution of the dispute.