Part XV — GENERAL PROVISIONS
57.1 Save to the extent that exclusion is prohibited by applicable law, the Centre, the Registrar, the Secretariat, the arbitrators, and the members of the Institutional Review Panel shall not be liable to any person for any act or omission in connection with a proceeding administered under these Rules.
Part XV — GENERAL PROVISIONS
58.1 The Centre may amend these Rules from time to time. Amendments shall not affect proceedings already commenced, unless the parties otherwise agree.
58.2 In the event of any inconsistency between these Rules and any other rules or protocols published by the Centre, these Rules shall prevail in matters concerning arbitration, save where a specific protocol (including the Emergency Arbitrator Protocol, the Timeline Enforcement Protocol, the Institutional Review Panel Rules, and the Expert Determination Protocol) is expressly incorporated.
58.3 Arbitrations commenced under Arbitration Rules v1.0 (Consultation Draft) before the Effective Date of this Consolidated Edition shall continue under v1.0 unless the parties jointly elect migration to this Consolidated Edition on the record, subject to Tribunal directions on any steps already taken.
Article 59 of the Consolidated Rulebook is the institutional convention by which every other Article is read. The institution publishes Article 59 in full so that counsel may cite the interpretive method of the Rules with the same confidence that they cite the Rules themselves.
Interpretation under the Consolidated Rulebook proceeds from the institutional voice of the Rules and the institutional purpose of the centre. The Rules are read as a coherent instrument; words used in one Article carry the meaning given them in the definitions appendix; references to “the Tribunal”, “the Registry”, “the Rulebook”, “Schedule I”, and “the Section 29A statutory ceiling” are read as proper-noun references and capitalised consistently.
Where an Article is silent on a procedural point, the Tribunal proceeds in such manner as it considers appropriate to ensure a fair, efficient, and reasoned determination, having regard to the institutional purpose recorded in the Preamble to the Rulebook and the Section 29A statutory ceiling.
The Rules are read as a coherent instrument. The Tribunal is the interpretive authority. The Registry is the keeper of the calendar.
Article 59, Consolidated Rulebook v1.2
Where an Article appears to conflict with another Article, the Tribunal reads the two together to give effect to the institutional purpose of both, and where reconciliation is not possible, gives effect to the Article more specific to the procedural point in issue. Where conflict persists, the Rules and Brand Council issues an institutional clarification by minute, which becomes a binding interpretive instrument from the date recorded.
Part VIII — CONDUCT OF THE ARBITRATION
21.1 The Tribunal shall conduct the arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate, subject to these Rules and the mandatory provisions of the law of the seat.
21.2 The Tribunal shall, at all times:
21.2.1 treat the parties equally; 21.2.2 give each party a full and reasonable opportunity to present its case; 21.2.3 avoid unnecessary delay or expense; 21.2.4 provide a fair, efficient, and expeditious process for the resolution of the dispute.
Part VIII — CONDUCT OF THE ARBITRATION
22.1 The Statement of Claim shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the constitution of the Tribunal and shall set out:
22.1.1 the facts supporting the claim; 22.1.2 the legal grounds relied on; 22.1.3 the relief sought; 22.1.4 a list of documents relied on, with copies annexed; 22.1.5 a statement of quantum with supporting material.
22.2 The Statement of Defence (and Counterclaim, if any) shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the Statement of Claim and shall mirror the contents prescribed under Article 22.1 in respect of the defence and counterclaim.
22.3 The Reply to Counterclaim shall be filed within twenty-one (21) days.
22.4 Rejoinder pleadings, if any, shall be permitted only with leave of the Tribunal, for good cause recorded in writing, and shall be strictly confined to matters arising out of the earlier pleading.
Part VIII — CONDUCT OF THE ARBITRATION
25.1 The seat of arbitration shall be as agreed by the parties.
25.2 Failing agreement, the Registrar shall determine the seat, having regard to:
25.2.1 the parties’ preferences; 25.2.2 the location of the subject matter and witnesses; 25.2.3 the governing law of the contract; 25.2.4 the neutrality and enforceability considerations applicable.
25.3 Hearings may be held at any venue convenient to the Tribunal and the parties, without prejudice to the seat.
Part X — SETTLEMENT, ARB-MED-ARB, AND INTEGRATED ADR
36.1 The Centre administers the following integrated ADR tracks; parties may invoke any of them in the first instance or, where appropriate, migrate between them under institutional supervision:
36.1.1 Structured Negotiation. Institution-facilitated, time-boxed at twenty-one (21) or forty-five (45) days. A negotiation convenor is appointed from the Mediator Panel. Exit to mediation or arbitration is by party election.
36.1.2 Mediation. Under the Mediation Act, 2023. Two sub-tracks: Commercial Mediation and Pre-Litigation Mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, where applicable.
36.1.3 Arbitration. Under these Rules, in the four Tracks under Part IV.
36.1.4 Arb-Med-Arb. Under Article 37.
36.1.5 Med-Arb. Under Article 38.
36.1.6 Emergency Arbitrator. Under Article 17.
36.1.7 Two-Tier Institutional Review. Under Part XII.
36.1.8 Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).
(a) Commercial ODR: a documents-only sole-arbitrator procedure for low-value, uncomplicated-fact disputes, operated on the institutional filing portal. (b) Consumer ODR: high-volume, standardised ODR for consumer-platform disputes under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, read with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
36.1.9 Expert Determination. Under the Expert Determination Protocol.
Part X — SETTLEMENT, ARB-MED-ARB, AND INTEGRATED ADR
37.1 At any stage, the parties may jointly request that the arbitration be stayed to permit mediation under the Lex Arbitrate Mediation Rules.
37.2 The arbitration shall be stayed for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, extendable once on joint application.
37.3 If the mediation results in a settlement, the settlement shall, at the parties’ request, be recorded by the Tribunal as an award on agreed terms.
37.4 If the mediation does not result in a settlement, the arbitration shall resume from the stage at which it was stayed.
37.5 Except with the written consent of all parties, the mediator shall not serve as arbitrator in the same or any related dispute, and the arbitrator shall not serve as mediator.
Part X — SETTLEMENT, ARB-MED-ARB, AND INTEGRATED ADR
38.1 Where the parties jointly and expressly so elect in writing, a mediator may subsequently serve as arbitrator in the same dispute (Med-Arb), subject to:
38.1.1 written informed consent of all parties, recorded after full disclosure of the risks and safeguards; 38.1.2 disclosure by the mediator of any circumstance within the Orange or Red Lists of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, 2024, which shall be treated for this purpose as a mandatory disclosure trigger; 38.1.3 a clean break between mediation and arbitration, recorded by procedural order, including a statement that ex parte communications during the mediation phase shall not influence the arbitral determination; 38.1.4 continuing confidentiality of the mediation communications, save as disclosed with written consent.
38.2 Where, in the Tribunal’s or Registrar’s view, the integrity of the arbitration cannot be preserved notwithstanding the safeguards, the Registrar shall decline to confirm the Med-Arb appointment.
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Part XI — THE AWARD
39.1 Where the Tribunal consists of more than one arbitrator, any award or other decision shall be made by a majority. In the absence of a majority, the presiding arbitrator shall decide.
39.2 The award shall be in writing, shall state the reasons on which it is based unless the parties have agreed otherwise or it is an award on agreed terms, and shall be signed by the arbitrators.
39.3 The award shall state its date and the seat of arbitration.
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