ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

139 ARBITRATION LAW Inquisitorial Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitra- tion 5 (“Prague Rules”) has been released which will be launched by the end of 2018. The Main Features of the Prague Rules As per the Prague Rules working group 6 ’s preamble to the draft, the rules aim to increase efficiency in international arbitration by over- coming the obstacles claimed to be stemming from the common law approach in document production, cross-examination of witnesses, expert opinions and etc. What is most notable is that, the working group as the drafters of the Prague Rules brings forward an inquisitorial model of procedure in which the arbitral tribunals are expected to be more pro-active. The Civil Law Approach The foremost mindset of the Prague Rules is the application of civil law approach that brings more inquisitorial and investigative powers to the arbitral tribunal 7 since the IBA Rules are criticized to be more adversarial, especially by the working group 8 ; whereas, with the adversarial and confrontational approach stemming from the common law culture, the parties’ autonomy is stronger in the conduct of the proceedings. In this manner, the Prague Rules explicitly regulate the pro-active role of the tribunal under Article 2 and brings broader power to the tribunal in terms of case conduct. The same article obliges the tribunal January 2016, and “ Document Production Requests Pursuant to IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in Internat ional Arbitration –II ”, Erdem & Erdem Newsletter, May 2016. 5 The Inquisitorial Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration: http://praguerules.com/prague_rules/ (Access date: August 2018). 6 For the list of the working group: http://praguerules.com/working_group/ (Ac- cess date: August 2018). 7 Henriques, Duarte G .: “ The Prague Rules: Competitor, Alternative or Addition to the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in Internat ional Arbitration?”, ASA Bull. 2/2018, p. 354. 8 The Prague Rules p.2.