Trend towards expedited arbitral proceedings, research finds

Global law firm White & Case LLP has published new research which reveals that arbitral institutions are accommodating an increased wish by parties for expedited proceedings and are more readily appointing women arbitrators.

From the introduction of expedited proceedings by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in 2010 to the end of 2015, SIAC received 231 and accepted 140 applications for expedited proceedings. In 2015 alone, SIAC received 69 requests for expedited proceedings, of which 27 were accepted. And in 2014, SIAC received 44 requests of which 23 were accepted.

At the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), there were 30 such applications, and 12 were granted, a jump from 2014, when there were 10 applications, three of which were granted.

The research also shows that arbitral institutions are making considerable efforts to appoint more female arbitrators.

For example, female arbitrators appointed by the SIAC in 2015 constituted nearly a quarter of all appointments. At the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), 16 per cent of appointees were women in 2015, which is almost a 50 per cent increase over 2014.

At the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA/ICDR), for 2015 16 per cent of arbitral appointments were female as well.

The move toward institutional appointments of female arbitrators is especially noteworthy because party appointments of women continue to lag far behind.

For instance, at the SCC, 39 of the 101 arbitrator appointments made by the SCC in 2015 were female (nearly 27 per cent). By contrast, where the parties appointed arbitrators, 6.5 per cent were female, and where appointments were made by co-arbitrators, 10 per cent were women.

Anne Véronique Schläpfer, partner at White & Case, said: “Arbitral institutions are recognising the increased importance of responding to the broader sea change of gender equality.

“Certainly, encouraging all players to consider offering equal opportunities for like qualifications will increase the chances of seeing more women appointed as arbitrator in the future.

“Gender equality is not a purpose or end in itself, but a necessary means to ensure that the pool of arbitrators offers the skills which the users expect. The future of arbitration also depends on the ability of the players to attract and select competent arbitrators and this implies enlarging the circle of potential arbitrators.”