Part V — PRE-EVIDENCE DISCOVERY
16.1 Purpose. The Pre-Evidence Discovery Protocol shifts document production into a pre-evidence window so that the Evidence Stage is concentrated, predictable, and short. It is modelled on the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, 2020, Article 3, with institutional calibration.
16.2 Procedural Sequence.
16.2.1 Within fourteen (14) days of filing of the Statement of Defence, each party shall exchange a Preliminary Document List setting out the documents in its possession or control on which it intends to rely. 16.2.2 Within a further twenty-one (21) days, a party may serve a Document Production Request in Redfern Schedule form. The requesting party shall identify each document or category sought, the relevance and materiality, and shall respond to any objections raised. 16.2.3 The Tribunal shall decide Document Production Requests at the first case management conference, or by written order in documents-only Tracks, and shall direct production within a further twenty-one (21) days. 16.2.4 The Pre-Evidence Discovery Stage closes upon expiry of the production period or on earlier Tribunal direction.
16.3 Late Production. A document not produced within the Pre-Evidence Discovery Stage is subject to the cost consequence under Article 33. Admission of late documents requires the Tribunal’s leave for good cause shown; the cost consequence applies to the defaulting party regardless of outcome unless the Tribunal expressly directs otherwise.
16.4 Electronic Evidence. Documents in electronic form shall be accompanied by a Section 65B-compliant certificate auto-generated by the institutional filing portal, recording the hash value, timestamp, and issuing-party digital signature.
16.5 AI-Assisted Document Review. Parties may use AI-assisted document review tools for relevance and privilege classification, subject to:
16.5.1 disclosure of the tool used and the prompt or classification framework; 16.5.2 human review of the output before production; 16.5.3 the Tribunal’s power to direct a spot audit of AI-classification accuracy; 16.5.4 continuing obligations of privilege, confidentiality, and completeness.
16.6 Privilege. Indian legal privilege under Sections 126 to 129 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, or the corresponding provisions of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, shall govern. Where the IBA Rules 2020 privilege principles apply by agreement, they shall apply in addition. Privilege logs shall be exchanged at the close of Pre-Evidence Discovery.
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