Nadia Darwazeh and Dr Henning Schaloske look at the benefits of settlement facilitation
As in-house counsel overseeing disputes, one of the key questions is always: how do I resolve the dispute as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible? Whereas 30 years ago arbitration, with its flexible procedure, was held up as quicker and shorter than going to court, that is not always the case today. The principal reason for this change is that arbitration has become more complex and sometimes more akin to court proceedings. To ensure the continued attractiveness of international arbitration, arbitral institutions, practitioners and in-house counsel alike have carefully considered over the years how to make it more time and cost efficient. One of the first attempts to identify cost and time-saving measures was the ICC Arbitration Commission Report on Techniques for Controlling Time and Costs in Arbitration in 2007. Since then, most if not all major international arbitral rules have been revised to put in place mechanisms, such as the appointment of a sole arbitrator for smaller disputes, expedited and emergency arbitrator proceedings, to ensure that arbitrations are faster and cheaper.
