Good afternoon. We are going to go with the last panel of the

session to date, which is “The Spectre Of Enforcement Risk and

Inefficient Arbitral Procedures.” So far we have discussed

enforcement of the award, the different aspects of enforcement of

the awards, which is the topic of this year’s workshop. In this

particular part of the session, we are going to discuss how

procedural orders, procedural decisions taken to increase

efficiency in arbitration may affect the enforcement of the award.

It is no secret that institutions and users are demanding efficiency

in cost reduction in arbitration. You have seen task forces on

costs and efficiency, new rules providing for measures and

powers of the arbitrators to expedite proceedings, arbitrators

implementing measures to reduce time, clients demanding

reduction of time. But there is also no secret that challenges are

increasing and that these decisions that seek to make arbitration

more efficient could end up in challenges, could end up in

dissatisfaction on the part of the users and the parties because

they may feel this this decisions affect their due process, affect

their right to be heard.

 

 

From decisions on bifurcation to dispositive measures, limits

on time, what we are going to debate here is how this procedural

orders and decisions may affect the award, and particularly how

to reach the balance between the need for efficiency on the one

hand and the duty of the arbitrators on the other to issue an

enforceable award. For that we have three very distinguished

colleagues and friends here. Ladies, first starting to my extreme

right, Elisabeth Eljuri. Elisabeth is a partner and head a Latin

American practice in Norton Rose Fulbright. She is, most of you

will know her as one of the real and true leaders in energy

matters worldwide. I have known Elisabeth for many years now.
Jean E. Kalicki, next, a partner in Arnold & Porter, Washington,