Part I — SCOPE, DEFINITIONS, AND INSTITUTIONAL ROLE
In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
2.1 “Act” means the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended from time to time).
2.2 “ADR” means alternative dispute resolution and includes negotiation, mediation, arbitration, expert determination, Arb-Med-Arb, Med-Arb, and online dispute resolution as administered under these Rules and complementary Protocols.
2.3 “Award” means any decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on the substance of the dispute, including any interim, partial, preliminary, consent, or final award.
2.4 “Centre” means Lex Arbitrate, the institutional arbitration centre administering proceedings under these Rules.
2.5 “Claim” includes counterclaim, and “Defence” includes defence to counterclaim, unless otherwise indicated.
2.6 “Claimant” means the party or parties commencing arbitration, and “Respondent” means the party or parties against whom arbitration is commenced.
2.7 “Consolidated Edition” means this Edition v1.2 of the Rules, being the sole operative instrument with effect from the Effective Date.
2.8 “Court” means a court of competent jurisdiction at the seat of arbitration.
2.9 “Emergency Arbitrator” has the meaning given in Article 17.
2.10 “Evidence Stage” means the Separate Evidence Stage conducted under Article 29 with the Certified Mechanism.
2.11 “Institutional Review Panel” has the meaning given in Article 47.
2.12 “Mediation Act” means the Mediation Act, 2023.
2.13 “Party” means a party to the proceeding.
2.14 “Pre-Evidence Discovery” means the protocol under Article 24.
2.15 “Registrar” means the Registrar of Lex Arbitrate or any person acting in that capacity.
2.16 “Request” means the Request for Arbitration under Article 4.
2.17 “Rules” means these Arbitration Rules of Lex Arbitrate, Consolidated Edition v1.2, as may be amended from time to time.
2.18 “Seat” means the juridical seat of arbitration designated under Article 34.
2.19 “Schedule I” means the Schedule of Fees and Costs under these Rules, as notified by the Centre.
2.20 “Secretariat” means the administrative organ of the Centre acting under the supervision of the Registrar.
2.21 “Tribunal” means a sole arbitrator or all the arbitrators when more than one is appointed.
2.22 “Writing” includes communication by electronic means, including email and the secure institutional filing portal.