Information Technology and Arbitration

This is not another book about online dispute resolution (ODR). Rather, it is about how various information technology (IT) solutions may be put to good use in traditional arbitral proceedings. Because IT tools can reduce costs and time radically by accelerating the arbitral process, the trend toward more and more use of such tools in arbitral proceedings is unstoppable. For arbitration professionals, be they arbitrators or counsel, this book brings the landscape of this changed practice into clear focus, dispersing mists of confusion and clarifying the choices they will inevitably be called upon to make. In this first handbook on what is likely to become one of tomorrow's incontrovertible topics in the field of arbitration, a well-known expert in ODR guides the reader through the reasons to use IT and its practicalities, the choices made by the prevalent arbitration institutions in this regard, and the legal limits to the use of such technologies. His powerful 'toolbox' includes a wealth of practice guidelines, drafting suggestions for arbitrators or parties wishing to use IT, and checklists and reminders to be used in practice. Among the efficiency-promoting IT tools thoroughly explained are the following: case management websites; videoconferencing; live notes; ODR platforms as ready-to-use solutions; online filing; and e-mail. The presentation focuses on the IT systems developed by major arbitral institutions like the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), with detailed guidance through their case management websites, virtual case rooms, extranets, and other IT tools allowing multiparty communications. The book's highly accessible text - complete with anecdotes, vividly depicted examples, and interesting background information - is backed with great knowledge and expertise in the uses of IT in law practice, so the reader is assured of gaining confident awareness of the easy advantages to grasp and the stumbling blocks to avoid as he or she proceeds. This is a book in which anyone involved in an arbitration, or even likely to be, will discover great benefit.