It may be an exaggeration to suggest that experts eventually will play a vital role in making justice open and transparent, but I believe the possibility is there. It is why I teach and it is why I came here. We may have seen the peak of the closed legal approach of the nation-state, at least in commerce and in civil litigation. Openness is the opportunity offered by the twenty-first century and all the modern educated professions have to play their part in it. Now I turn to the service which the expert may give as witness or investigator for the tribunal.
Various legislation covers the appointment of a tribunal expert.
The English Arbitration Act of 1996 refers to advisors, assessors and experts, but does not differentiate greatly between them. The Model Law also imposes a duty of co-operation on the parties. In any reference, the decision as to whether or not to appoint an expert is a decision of the tribunal. Although the parties have the right to agree otherwise, the tribunal's discretion is complete, both as to whether to appoint an expert and as to who the expert should be. In practice, however, it often may make sense for the tribunal to invite the parties to agree upon an expert.