Newsletter-21

214 NEWSLETTER 2016 law traditions, the court is expected to know the law 3 . Whether or not a tribunal will consider a legal expert necessary depends on the applicable law in the case. Generally, when applicable law is interna- tional law, or usages of trade, lex mercatoria, etc., it is expected for the tribunal to be familiar with the rules. In such cases, a separate legal opinion from a legal expert is not considered necessary. However, in cases where a particular domestic law is applicable, a report from a legal expert can be useful since the dynamics and rules of domestic laws differ one from the other. Conclusion A non-biased and independent expert opinion is considered to be a useful tool in international arbitration. Despite debates with regard to its admissibility, most tribunals prefer the parties to appoint experts for matters that require special knowledge. 3 Bernard Hanotiau , “Civil Law and Common Law Procedural Traditions in In- ternational Arbitration: Who Has Crossed the Bridge?” in Arbitral Procedure at the Dawn of the New Millenium: Reports of the International Colloquium of CEPANI, October 15, 2004, p.96.