Originally from Chamber of Arbitration of Milan Rules: A Commentary

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ARTICLE 26 – EXPERTS

1. At the request of one of the parties or by its own initiative, the Arbitral Tribunal may appoint one or more experts or delegate the appointment to the Chamber of Arbitration.

2. The expert shall comply with the duties of independence imposed on the arbitrators under these Rules. The challenge provisions relating to arbitrators shall also apply.

3. Where any expert is appointed, the parties may appoint their own experts.

4. The expert of the Arbitral Tribunal shall allow the parties and their experts, if any, to assist in the expert’s activities.

1. Introductory remarks 

1.1. Article 26 Milan Arbitration Rules empowers the arbitral tribunal to appoint one or more experts and deals with few related issues, without entering into great detail as to the number of procedural options which may arise in connection therewith. The choice to set out some general guidance only is particularly wise, since it is consistent with the nature and purpose of arbitration, conferring freedom to the parties and to the arbitral tribunal to decide the best rules applicable in the specific case, without formalities typical of judicial proceedings.

Moreover, the flexibility of the proceeding is particularly important with respect to expert evidence, where it could be complicated to reach an efficient balance between legal certainty, costs and time.

1.2. For the purposes of this comment we assume that, unless otherwise expressly stated, the seat of the arbitration is located in Italy and, therefore, in addition to the Milan Arbitration Rules, that Italian law is the law governing the arbitration procedure.1