International Dispute Resolution and COVID-19

The Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration has issued letter guidance regarding the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.  The letter states:

Dear Colleagues,

As you may well be aware, the status of the COVID-19 outbreak has evolved over the past few days. In this regard, we encourage parties, arbitral tribunals and other neutrals to remain appraised of any developments and consider discussing their potential impact on pending proceedings, if and when necessary.

With particular regard to attendance of scheduled hearings, other in-person meetings and any related travel by parties, arbitral tribunals, neutrals and others involved in pending proceedings, we urge you to consult any official recommendations or directives applicable (i) at the place of their departure and any transit points; and (ii) at the place where they will be held.

Specifically for France, relevant information may be found here and here. The French Administration has issued recommendations for travelers arriving in France from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and other areas with active COVID-19 circulation (currently Singapore, South Korea, Iran and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Venice and Emilia-Romagna) for the 14 days following their arrival.

Additional queries may also be addressed to the managers of the venues where such hearings or in-person meetings will be held.

The Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration

In addition, Delos Dispute Resolution has published a practical COVID-19 checklist that was created for the benefit of arbitration and mediation practitioners.  According to Delos:

In reviewing the checklist, you should consider the potential disruption that not taking steps – moving the venue, postponing the hearing or conducting it online – may create for participants and their families.

As will be apparent, dialogue among the tribunal/mediator and the parties is key.  It is recommended: (i) to hold a “Conference Call” [3] to discuss the questions raised in the checklist, which can serve as an agenda for this purpose; and (ii) for the call participants to consider the checklist in preparing for the call and be in a position to answer the relevant questions for their side.

This checklist is a work in progress and will be updated in light of feedback received on it.  If you have comments on it, edits to suggest, resources to recommend in addition to the World Health Organisation (WHO) sources cited in the checklist, etc., please do so and send to info@delosdr.org.  Please note that this checklist is for information purposes only, and not legal advice.

H/t: Daniel Urbas and Michael McIlwrath

Photo by: Sam Albury on Unsplash