Emergency Arbitration has been adopted by various arbitral institutions to address the need for emergency interim relief at the pre-arbitral stage. This provides broader options for a party seeking urgent relief, by introducing provisions for the expedited constitution of the tribunal and/or the appointment of emergency arbitrators. Prior to this, a party could only seek such relief in court or wait for the Arbitral Tribunal to be constituted.
Institutions that adopted Emergency Arbitration include the International Chamber of Commerce, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and of course, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
The LCIA introduced the Emergency Arbitration procedure to its rules on 1 October 2014, replacing its previous rules of 1998. It is important to note that the Emergency Arbitration procedure under LCIA rules applies only to arbitration agreements concluded on or after 1 October 2014.
As with the arbitration rules of other institutions, where Emergency Arbitration procedures were introduced earlier, the LCIA rules envisage the appointment of a temporary sole arbitrator. It is the role of the Emergency Arbitrator to conduct emergency proceedings that address a claim for emergency relief pending the formation of the arbitration tribunal. The Emergency Arbitrator does not remain to determine the merits of the dispute.
The Arbitration Act 1996 regulates arbitration proceedings in England and Wales and contains a provision described in s.44 that allows parties to seek orders from courts in support of an arbitration, similar to those found in usual court proceedings.
However, a key issue faced by the court is that this jurisdiction is limited by the existence of Articles 9A and 9B of the revised LCIA Rules, which are “to reduce the need to invoke the assistance of the court in cases of urgency by enabling an arbitral tribunal to act quickly in an appropriate case”.
Article 9A provides for the expedited formation of an arbitral tribunal in the event of exceptional urgency and under Article 9B a party can seek appointment of an emergency arbitrator. The parties continue seeking various orders from courts in support of arbitration proceedings, but the LCIA rules have more powers than before when it comes to dealing emergency proceedings.
An application for Emergency Arbitration can be made to the Registrar in writing at any time before the formation of the tribunal or together with the request of arbitration. The application must contain grounds, specific claim(s) with reasons for emergency relief and include all relevant supporting evidence. Currently, the fee of an Emergency Arbitration application in the LCIA Court is £28,000.
If the application is successful, the LCIA Court will appoint an Emergency Arbitrator within three days of receipt of the application by the Registrar. The Emergency Arbitrator is selected by the LCIA, taking into account their experience and availability to deal with the matter. The Emergency Arbitrator will then consider the claim for emergency relief, making a written and reasoned decision within 14 days of the appointment.
The Arbitration Tribunal can subsequently vary, discharge, or revoke any order or award made by an Emergency Arbitrator. In summary, the introduction of Emergency Arbitration provisions to the LCIA rules allows parties in need of an emergency interim relief to use this procedure instead of seeking assistance from courts. This ultimately improves the efficiency of arbitration with parties benefiting from a faster moving and completely confidential process.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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