NEWSLETTER-2017

141 ARBITRATION LAW dispute resolution. The Court may decide to appoint three arbitrators, taking the specific circumstances into consideration 6 . Appendix VI to the Rules sets forth that a sole arbitrator may be appointed, even though the parties have decided otherwise in the arbitration agreement 7 . Pursuant to the Notes, by submitting to arbi- tration under the Rules, the parties agree that any reference made to three arbitrators in their arbitration agreement is subject to the Court’s discretion to appoint a sole arbitrator, if the Provisions are applied 8 . In the Expedited Procedure, Article 23 of the Rules pertaining to the terms of reference shall not be applied 9 . However, a case manage- ment conference shall be held no later than 15 days after the date upon which the file was transmitted to the arbitral tribunal 10 . As per the conduct of the proceedings, the arbitral tribunal has discretion to adopt the necessary procedural measures to conduct the arbitration in accordance with the time limits. Accordingly, Appendix VI provides that the arbitral tribunal may decide not to allow requests for document production, to limit the number, length, and scope of written submissions and written witness evidence, and after consulting the parties, may decide the dispute solely on the basis of the docu- ments submitted by the parties, which would mean that there would be no hearings or examination of witnesses or experts. The hearings may also be held through videoconference or similar means of com- munication 11 . The Final Award Under the Provisions, the final award is to be rendered within six months from the case management conference. The Notes clarify that extensions may only be granted in limited and justified circum- 6 Notes, §78. 7 Article 2(1) of Appendix VI of the Rules. 8 Notes, §76. 9 Article 3(1) of Appendix VI of the Rules. 10 Article 3(3) of Appendix VI of the Rules. 11 Article 3(4) and 3(5) of Appendix VI of the Rules.