To Ask or Not to Ask

Questions will arise at various stages of arbitral proceedings that require answers for arbitrators to fully understand and consider the evidence presented by the parties and to issue an award. While many arbitrators are likely to issue formal arbitrator inquiries through procedural orders or oral questions during proceedings, others may refrain from issuing them for various reasons. Regardless of your arbitral perspective, the extent to which arbitrators participate in the arbitral process by asking questions and issuing arbitrator inquiries is not unlimited. Arbitrators must balance their need for information with their ethical duty to remain neutral. Thus, with every arbitrator inquiry, whether written or oral, arbitrators must initially answer the question: “to ask or not to ask”— that is the pivotal preliminary internal arbitrator inquiry.

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