Prishtine, May 27, 2016 – Many benefits that commercial arbitration offers to the parties, as well as the flexibility of their procedural actions, always in agreement with the arbitral tribunal, may influence on the extension of the duration of proceedings and the costs thereof. The tactics of reducing the duration of the proceedings as well as the reduction of arbitration costs were two of the main topics on which Ms. Julie Coleman, commercial law advisor at Contract Law Enforcement Program, was focused during her presentation.
Often, the method of drafting the arbitration clause is one which affects the reduction of duration of the proceedings and the reduction of costs. The selection of a range of techniques towards meeting these two goals can also be done after the dispute has arisen and before the start of proceedings, or during the arbitral proceedings. Therefore, procedural techniques of the parties such as the choice of a smaller number of arbitrators for cases of a less complex nature, the reduction of deadlines, the conduct of the proceedings solely on the basis of documentary evidence, and reaching a settlement between the parties during the arbitration proceedings were only some of the techniques which were discussed in details by Julie Coleman during this workshop.
Further, Ms. Coleman said that techniques discussed should be used mindfully and not affect the rights and interests of the parties, if their use would lead to reducing their opportunities for a fair presentation of the case. Finally, she presented a case study, which resulted with a highly interactive debate and with interest to the participants