The Quarterly Journal of Judicial Law Views

The Quarterly Journal of Judicial Law Views

The Burden of Proof in International Commercial Arbitration and the Possibility of its Adjustment by the Parties and the Arbitral Tribunal

Document Type : p

Authors
1 Professor of the University of Judicial Sciences and Administrative Services
2 university of judicial
Abstract
According to a legal rule, the burden of proof is on the claimant who presents a claim to prove the facts and difficulty in proving the claim never frees the claimant from the obligation to prove. If the claimant does not provide sufficient evidence to prove its claim he has acted at its own disadvantage. On the other hand, in the arbitration agreement, the principle of party autonomy is an accepted principle and according to it, the parties are free to choose the procedural and substantive provisions governing the agreement. This article tries to determine whether the authority of the parties in determining the governing law includes the authority to adjust and change the burden of proof with the descriptiveـanalytical method. It is obvious that this authority, as well as the authority of the arbitral tribunal about adjustment of the burden of proof, should not lead to a change that would conflict with public policy, mandatory rule, and rules related to the principle of equal and fair treatment of the parties. There are different opinions about whether the burden of proof has a procedural or substantive nature but our review in this article shows that the dominant tendency in the international commercial arbitration procedure is that the rule of burden of proof has a substantive nature.

 
Keywords

  • Barraclough, A., & J. Waincymer (2005), Mandatory Rules of Law in International Commercial Arbitration, 6 Melb, J. Int'l .L.
  • Belohlavek, A. J. (2011), “The Legal Nature of International Commercial Arbitration and the Effects of Conflicts Between Legal Cultures”, Law of Ukraine , Pravo Ukrajiny , No. 2.
  • Bhushan, A. (2014), "Standard and Burden of Proof in International Commercial Arbitration: Is There a Bright Line Rule?", 25 Am, Rev. of Int'l Arb.
  • Blavi, F., & Vial, G. (2016), “The Burden of Proof in International CommercialArbitration: Are We Allowed to Adjust the Scales”, Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, Vol. 39.
  • Born, G. B. (2014), International Commercial Arbitration, Kluwer L. Int'l, 2nd e d.
  • Duarte G., H. (2015), “The Role of Good Faith in Arbitration: Are Arbitrator and Arbitral Institutions Bound to Act in Good Faith?”, ASA Bulletin, Vol. 33, No 3.
  • Foster, C. E. (2010), Burden of Proof in International Courts and Tribunals, Australian Year Book of International Law.
  • Franck, S., J. Fereda, K. Lavin, & A. Lehmann Tobias (2015), “International Arbitration: Demographics, Precision and Justice’, in Albert Jan Van den Berg (ed.), Legitimacy: Myths, Realities, Challenges, ICCA Congress, Series No. 18.
  • Garnett, (2022), “Demystifying the Burden of Proof in International Arbitration”, in Franco Ferrari and Friedrich Rosenfeld (eds), Handbook of Evidence in International Commercial Arbitration: Key Issues and Concepts ,Wolters Kluwer.
  • Kazazi, M. (1992), Burden of Proof and its Related Issues: A Study on Evidence before International Tribunals" Dissertation Doctorate, Geneva.
  • Kurkela, M. S., & S. Turunen (2010), Due Process in International Commercial Arbitration, 2d e d, Oxford University Publication.
  • Livingstone, M. L. (2008), “Party Autonomy in International Commercial Arbitration: Popular Fallacy or Proven Fact?”, Journal of International Arbitration 25, .No.05.
  • Marossi, A. Z. (2011), “Shifting the Burden of Proof in the Practice of the Iran ـ United States Claims Tribunal”, Journal of International Arbitration, 28 Vol. Netherlands.
  • Pauker, S. (2020), ‘Substance and Procedure in International Arbitration”, 36 Arb Intl 3, No.20.
  • Pryles, M. (2007), “Limits to Party Autonomy in Arbitral Procedure”, Int'l Arb, Vol . 24.
  • Redfern, A., C. Reymond, A. Reiner, B. Hanotiau, Eveleigh, &, L. W. Menzies )1994), “The Practical Distinction Between the Burden of Proof and the Taking of Evidence”, Arb. Int'l, Vol.10, Issue 3.
  • Reiner, A. (1992), “Burden and General Standards of Proof”, Arbitration International, Vol. 10, No.3.
  • Rodriguez, F. (2014), “Standard of Proof: A Plea for Precision or an Unnecessary Remedy?”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog ICCA 2014.
  • Schlaepfer, A., W. (2015), “The Burden of Proof in International Arbitration”, in Legitimacy: Myths, Realities, Challenges, ICCA Congress, Series 127 ـ 128.
  • Trappe, J. (1998), “The Arbitration Proceedings: Fundamental Principles and Rights of the Parties”, 15 J. Int'l Arb.
  • icsid.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/parties_publications/C3765/Respondent.pdf(last visited 4/6/2023).
  • iusct.com/fa/wp ـ content/uploads/2020/11/4 ـ Fa ـ Tribunal ـ Rules.pdf(last visited 3/ 5 / 2023).
  • icj ـ cij.org/public/files/case ـ related/45/045 ـ 19620615 ـ JUD ـ 01 ـ 00 ـ EN(last visited 3/6/2023).
  • uncitral.un.org/sites/uncitral.un.org/files/mediadocuments/uncitral/en/21 ـ 07996_expedited ـ arbitration ـ e ـ ebook.pdf(last visited 10 / 5 / 2023).

  • Receive Date 29 July 2023
  • Revise Date 12 February 2024
  • Accept Date 02 June 2024