Document Production in International Arbitration

Book excerpt: Because document production can discover written evidence that would otherwise not be available, it is often the key to winning a case. However, document production proceedings can be a costly and time-consuming exercise, and arbitral awards in particular are often challenged on grounds that relate to document production orders. The task of balancing the conflicting interests of the parties in this context is a major responsibility of arbitral tribunals. This book's analysis focuses on whether there exist legal principles on which arbitrators should establish rules of document production in both civil law and common law countries, and shows how international arbitration is affected. The author examines the relevant discretion of arbitral tribunals under US, English, Swiss, German, and Austrian law, and under nine of the most important sets of institutional rules, including the ICC Rules, the LCIA Rules, and the Swiss Rules. The presentation mines case law and legal literature for concepts based on the common expectations of the parties, the legitimate expectations of a party, the duty to balance different procedural expectations of the parties, the presumed intent of the parties, the underlying hypothetical bargain, implied terms, and the arbitrators' discretion. Among the topics and issues investigated are the following: - procedural rules on document production versus procedural flexibility; - how arbitral tribunals can modify the IBA Rules on a case-by-case basis; - discretion granted by legislation in each country covered; - electronic document production; - how to deal with privilege and confidentiality objections; - how to formulate or answer document production requests; - effective sanctions in case of non-compliance with procedural orders of the arbitral tribunal; - what grounds for annulment and non-enforcement a losing party can raise in what countries. Perhaps the greatest benefit of the book is the inclusion of model clauses, commensurate with both civil law and common law expectations. The author explicates the advantages and inconveniences of each model clause, and clarifies the influence of each clause on the efficiency of the proceedings and the enforcement risk. For practitioners, the book not only gives counsel a thorough overview of possible arguments for and against document production, but also assists arbitrators find a way through the jungle of opinions on the interpretation of the IBA Rules. Legal academics will appreciate the author's deeply informed analysis and commentary and the book's contribution to increasing the predictability of arbitral decisions on document production and showing how issues in dispute can be narrowed by tailor-made rules, thus helping to raise the efficiency and reduce the costs of arbitral proceedings.