The COVID-19 pandemic affects proceedings pending before the Belgian State Courts and international commercial arbitration proceedings alike. Just as for courts proceedings, mandatory health and safety measures as well as travel restrictions make it strenuous to physically convene in a single location with all parties, counsel and arbitrators to hear the case.
On 9 April 2020, the ICC International Court of Arbitration issued a guidance note how to mitigate the adverse effects of these mandatory restrictions. In the attached article we present the main content of the guidance note and highlight some important procedural tools in arbitration which allow parties to reduce the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on arbitration proceedings.
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