Source: http://laszczuk.pl/Publikacje/is-the-parties-freedom-to-establish-the-rules-of-procedure-before-the-arbitration-court-limited-in-time-2/?lang=en
Timestamp: 2020-05-25 08:01:04
Document Index: 379459704

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 1184', 'Art. 19', '§1', 'Art. 1184', '§2', 'Art. 1184', '§2', 'Art. 19', 'Art. 1184', '§1', 'Art. 19', '§6', 'Art. 705', '§1', '§2']

Is the Parties’ Freedom to Establish the Rules of Procedure before the Arbitration Court Limited in Time? - Łaszczuk
Art. 1184 of the Polish Civil Procedure Code essentially reflects the wording of Art. 19 of the Model Law, providing in §1 that if not otherwise provided by statute, the parties to an arbitration proceeding may themselves establish the rules and manner of proceeding before the arbitration court. It should be pointed out that the Polish Parliament divided arbitration procedure into two categories, one for “rules” and one for “manner of proceeding,” where the Model Law refers only to “procedure.” This distinction should not be given great weight, however, because the lawmakers do not indicate any difference between these categories or do not derive any effects from them, and thus “rules” and “manner of proceeding” should be treated uniformly as one set of procedural rules, which we may refer to hereinafter as “rules of procedure” or simply “procedure.” What may give rise to doubts, however, is that in Art. 1184 §2, when recognizing the power of the arbitration court to determine the procedure in the absence of agreement by the parties, the Parliament refers not to “rules” but only to the “manner” of proceeding (“the arbitral tribunal may … conduct the arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate”). It nonetheless appears that this difference in wording of the two sections does not lead to any conclusion that there is a substantive difference between what may be determined by the parties and what may be determined by the arbitrators if the parties fail to agree. The difference in wording of the two sections may simply result from the fact that while the first sentence of Art. 1184 §2 is a faithful translation of the first sentence of Model Law Art. 19(2), in Art. 1184 §1 the parliament did not use the uniform concept corresponding to the term “procedure” as used in Model Art. 19(1), but for unclear reasons resorted to two different terms whose meanings are hard to reconcile against the background of Part Five of the Civil Procedure Code.
The Rules of the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce52 not only do not limit or exclude application of the rule of the autonomy of the parties to establish the procedure that is unlimited in time, but confirm application of such rule throughout the arbitration proceeding, providing in §6(1): “In any event … the Arbitral Tribunal, in applying the provisions of the Rules, shall take into account the provisions of the arbitration agreement (arbitration clause) and the principles and manner of conduct before the Court, as agreed by the parties.” Thus, not only in matters not governed by the Rules, but also with respect to provisions set forth in the Rules, it is not the arbitrator’s opinion but the mutual intent of the parties that shall decide on the binding procedure, regardless of whether such intent is expressed before or after appointment of the arbitrators. The Rules of the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce thus fall within the group of arbitration rules that respect the autonomy of the parties to establish the arbitration procedure to the greatest degree.
14 It would not appear correct here to refer to the time at which all rights and duties of the arbitrators are extinguished. See comments on this topic by M. Łaszczuk & J. Szpara, “Postępowania postarbitrażowe” (“Post-Arbitration Procedure”), in A. Szumański (ed.) System prawa handlowego. Arbitraż handlowy (System of Commercial Law: Commercial Arbitration), Warsaw 2010, vol. 8 p. 634 and n. 5; see also A. Zielony, “Postępowanie rektyfikacyjne i remisyjne dotyczące wyroku sądu polubownego” (“Proceeding for Correction or Reconsideration of an Arbitration Award”), Przegląd Sądowy 2007 No. 3 pp. 30–31; A. Szumański, “Arbitrzy i zespół orzekający” (“Arbitrators and the Arbitration Panel”), in System prawa handlowego… (System of Commercial Law…) at pp. 435–436.
15 I.e. prior to 17 October 2005: “Art. 705. §1. Until commencement of the proceeding, the parties themselves may determine the procedure that shall be applied during consideration of the case. §2. If the parties failed to do so, the arbitration court shall apply the procedure it deems appropriate….”
28 Concerning the course of work on the Model Law, see in particular H.M. Holtzmann & J.E. Neuhaus, supra n. 3, at pp. 9–15; P. Binder, supra n. 3, at pp. 9–11; A. Broches, “UNCITRAL – Commentary on the Model Law,” in J. Paulsson (ed.), International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration, Kluwer Law International 1984 (amended Supp. 11, January 1990), at pp. 92 ff.; H.M. Holtzmann, “The Conduct of Arbitral Proceedings,” in P. Sanders (ed.), UNCITRAL’s Project for a Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, ICCA Congress Series 1984, Lausanne, Kluwer Law International 1984, at pp. 125–135; A.W. Wiśniewski, “Modele krajowej regulacji prawa o arbitrażu handlowym” (“Models of National Regulation of Commercial Arbitration Law”) in System prawa handlowego… (System of Commercial Law…), at pp. 119–120; and Summary Records from Meetings at www.uncitral.org.
34 The commentary includes the note (at p. 45 n. 63): “As was noted by the Working Group, the freedom of the parties under paragraph (1) to agree on the procedure is a continuing one throughout the arbitral proceeding, and not limited, for example, to the time before the first arbitrator is appointed…. It is submitted, however, that the parties themselves may in their original agreement limit their freedom in this way if they wish their arbitrators to know from the start under what procedural rules they are expected to act.” “Analytical Commentary on Draft Text of a Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration,” A/CN.9/264, www.uncitral.org.
The parties may establish in the arbitration agreement or in a separate document, prior in any case to the commencement of the arbitral proceedings, the rules that the arbitrators must apply in the proceedings and the language of the arbitration. In the absence of such rules, the arbitrators are free to regulate the course of the proceedings and to determine the language of the arbitration in the manner they deem most convenient….”
1. The parties may agree, either in the arbitration agreement or in a subsequent written document concluded before the acceptance by the first arbitrator, on the rules of procedure to be followed in the arbitration as well as on the place of arbitration….”
(2) In the event that the parties do not themselves determine the procedures to be applied, and the arbitrator or arbitration tribunal has been constituted in accordance with Articles 12, 13, and 14, all disputes which have been so referred to the arbitrator or arbitration tribunal shall be heard and decided upon in accordance with the provisions in this Act….”
40 T. Wiśniewski & M. Hauser-Morel, “Postępowanie arbitrażowe” (“Arbitration Procedure”), in System prawa handlowego… (System of Commercial Law…), at p. 466.