Originally from the Leading Arbitrators' Guide to International Arbitration - Fourth Edition

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I. INTRODUCTION

This chapter’s title bears a striking resemblance to that of the report of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, “Techniques for Controlling Time and Costs in Arbitration” which was first published in 2007.  Seventeen years have since passed and yet the “time and cost” topic remains relevant.  

Is this because the techniques recommended in that ICC report and all the efforts made by arbitration practitioners to control time and cost in the intervening years have been futile?

To the contrary, many of the recommendations in that report, which was built around the two core principles of (1) pro-active case management by tribunals and (2) the tailor-making of arbitral procedure for each individual case, have been both well-received and successfully applied.   

But unfortunately, however successful we are in controlling time and cost in arbitration, it will almost certainly be a topic that will never go away. That is because time and money are two of the world’s most precious commodities, and they are particularly prized by businesses.  Disputes inevitably sap these resources, so minimizing the further drain caused by arbitration (where that is the process used to resolve the dispute) is not surprisingly a key demand from business users.