In ICCA''s latest Congress Series, two working groups of international experts, professionals and practitioners in the field of arbitration pose answers to the challenge facing international arbitrators to improve the effeciency and predictability of arbitration proceedings.

Planning Efficient Arbitration Proceedings focused on the arbitrator''s ability to plan proceedings, using various formal and informal methods and techniques. In particular, attention was drawn to the UNCITRAL Draft Guidelines which provide arbitrators with a written reminder of items to be covered while planning proceedings. Working Group I also discussed means of improving the presentation of evidence during proceedings.

The Law Applicable in International Arbitration faced the complications arbitral tribunals may encounter when the law applicable to the substance of a dispute and the law governing the procedure are different. Attention was also directed toward three other systems of law which may be relevant during the proceedings: the law governing the capacity of the parties, the law applicable to the arbitration agreement and the appropriate conflict-of-law rules to determine the substantive law.