Originally from Soft Law in International Arbitration, Second Edition

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Purpose: The purpose of this Guidance Notice is to raise a range of matters that need to be addressed in advance of an arbitration being conducted on an online platform, with numerous parties each participating from different physical locations. This Guidance Note takes the form of a checklist of relevant considerations for parties to take into account in preparing for an online arbitration. The Guidance Note does not constitute legal advice and is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to serve as a prompt of the key matters to be addressed1.

A. Choosing the most suitable platform

There are a range of videoconferencing platforms available. Some of the available platforms are Microsoft Teams, Modron, BlueJeans, Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, Zoom and GoToMeeting and Adobe Connect2. The parties will need to consider the most suitable video conferencing platform for the particular arbitration.

In considering which platform will best suit the needs of the parties and the particular arbitration, consideration should be given to the functionality that is required. For example:

• Will the platform be capable of showing the full image of persons involved? Is there clear audio of participants? Can you switch between speaker view and grid view if necessary?
• Will screen sharing be required (e.g. to display exhibits and other documents, or for a PowerPoint presentation in the form of an oral outline of submissions)?
• Relatedly, how will demonstrative exhibits be submitted and shown in the online environment? For example, does it permit Whiteboard Mark-up / Interactive tools? Is Share control permitted?
• What limits are there on the number of persons?
• Will online break-out rooms (including for the Tribunal) be used? If so, is that feature password-protected so as to prevent one party joining another’s break out session?