Over the last few weeks, numerous organizations have issued guidance on conducting remote arbitration through video teleconferencing. While the organizations offer many of the same recommendations, each guidance is varied and has different points of emphasis, making it difficult to identify generally agreed upon recommendations. In order to assist practitioners and arbitrators, Disputing has analyzed guidance documents from the AAA, CIArb, CPR, Hogan Lovells, and the ICC, as well as the Seoul Protocol, in order to provide a comprehensive list of best practices for remote arbitration.

Today’s post focuses on best practices related to the technical aspect of holding an arbitration over a video teleconferencing platform:

• The parties should agree upon the video conferencing platform that will be used to host the proceeding. The platform must be secure and stable.
• A means of internal communication shall be designated, such as virtual break out rooms, text messaging, or telephone conference.
• The parties may agree to utilize additional cyber security technology to further protect the proceeding.
• The parties shall agree upon the minimum bandwidth speed for each participant. Bandwidth must be sufficient to support clear audio and video transmission.
• The parties may agree to additional hardware requirements. It is recommended that each venue has a wired network connection, a microphone, a high-quality webcam, and headsets for each participant.
• Parties shall adopt adequate backup procedures, including designating a backup video teleconferencing platform as well as alternative backups such as teleconferencing.
• The software and hardware setup should be tested at least twice, with a final test performed immediately prior to the proceeding.
• Each venue must have at least one designated person to provide technical support.
• During the proceeding, all external devices should be muted to minimize distractions.

Read original article


Tags: