Hearings,Witnesses and Tribunal-Appointed Experts
Authors: Willems Melanie 
Published: July 2022

Article 22: Hearings and witnesses

22.1 The arbitral tribunal shall give the parties reasonable notice of the date, time and place of any oral hearing.

22.2 At least 15 days before the hearing, each party shall give the arbitral tribunal and the other parties the name and address of any witness it intends to present, the subject of the witness’s testimony and the language in which such witness will give his or her testimony. 22.3 The arbitral tribunal shall determine the manner in which witnesses are examined and who shall be present during witness examination.

22.4 Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or directed by the arbitral tribunal, evidence of witnesses may be presented in the form of written statements signed by them.

22.5 In accordance with a schedule set by the arbitral tribunal, each party shall notify the arbitral tribunal and the other parties of the names of any witnesses who have presented a written witness statement whom it wishes to examine.

22.6 The arbitral tribunal may require any witness to appear at a hearing. If a witness whose appearance has been requested fails to appear without valid excuse as determined by the arbitral tribunal, the arbitral tribunal may disregard any written statement of that witness.

22.7 The arbitral tribunal may direct that witnesses be examined in person or by telephone or video conference.

22.8The arbitral tribunal may direct the order of proof, exclude irrelevant testimony or other evidence, and direct the parties to focus their presentations on issues whose resolution could dispose of all or part of the case.

22.9 Hearings shall not be held in public unless the parties agree otherwise or the governing law provides to the contrary.

22.10 If a party, duly notified in accordance with Article 22.1, fails to appear at a hearing without showing sufficient cause for such failure to the satisfaction of the arbitral tribunal, the arbitral tribunal may proceed with the hearing in the absence of such party.

Article 25: Tribunal-appointed experts

25.1 The arbitral tribunal, after consultation with the parties, may appoint one or more independent experts to report to the arbitral tribunal, in writing, on issues designated by the arbitral tribunal and to be communicated to the parties.

25.2 The parties shall provide such expert with any relevant information or produce for inspection any relevant documents or goods that the expert may require. Any dispute between a party and the expert as to the relevance of the requested information or goods shall be referred to the arbitral tribunal for determination.

25.3 Upon receipt of an expert’s report, the arbitral tribunal shall send a copy of the report to all parties and shall give the parties an opportunity to express, in writing, their opinion of the report. A party may examine any document on which the expert has relied in such report.

25.4 At the request of any party, the arbitral tribunal shall give the parties an opportunity to question the expert at a hearing, at which the parties may present expert witnesses to testify on the points at issue, subject to the provisions of Article 22.