Newsletter-21

193 ARBITRATION LAW Document Production Requests pursuant to IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration – I* Att. Ezgi Babur von Schwander Evidentiary issues in international arbitration are of great im- portance, based on their impact on fulfilling the burden of proof, and consequently, on the decisions on merits. The taking of evidence is regulated under the International Bar Association (“IBA”) Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (“IBA Rules” or, “Rules”), which is referred to in many arbitral proceedings as a point of reference for evidentiary issues, both in the arbitrations conducted under institutional rules, and also in ad hoc arbitrations. The Rules provide for a helpful basis, especially if the parties and the arbitrators come from different legal systems. In this article, we analyze the general framework and principles of the provisions of the IBA Rules on document production requests, while the grounds for objection to document production requests un- der Art. 9.2 of the Rules will be analyzed in our next article. In General The IBA Rules are widely used in international arbitration. In the foreword of the Rules, it is stated that the IBA issued these rules as a resource to parties and to arbitrators to provide an efficient, eco- nomical, and fair process for the taking of evidence in international arbitrations 1 . The Rules cover a large variety of issues concerning the taking of evidence, such as presentation of documents, issues concern- ing witnesses, and the principles with respect to evidentiary hearings. * Article of January 2016 1 IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, Foreword.