Article 16 Dec 2020 2 min read

Virtual hearings point the way forward for International Arbitration

Graham Smith-Bernal Graham Smith-Bernal

Even before the pandemic, arbitration hearings were well ahead of the rest of the profession in adopting virtual and hybrid technology as a more efficient way of resolving international disputes. COVID-19 shutdowns have only propelled virtual and hybrid dispute into prominence.

With COVID-19 sparking an unprecedented rise in remote and virtual hearings, the legal community has become rapidly conversant with the technology that makes this possible. Facing a huge backlog of cases, the profession is also evolving rapidly to embrace the best possible solutions to securely conduct hearings, trials, and other proceedings in the long term.

While straightforward videoconferencing and webinar solutions address audio-visual requirements for general purpose meetings and events, going hybrid or virtual is a particularly complex process in international tribunal-led hearings. These involve multiple parties, different languages and cultures, highly sophisticated matters under dispute and substantial document bundles for the arbitral record.

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