NEWSLETTER-2020-metin

Impact of COVID -19 on Arbitration* Att. Mehveş Erdem Introduction The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impact on arbitration in many aspects. In an environment where the courts and domestic litigation is heavily affected, arbitration’s flexible nature to adapt, and its eligibil- ity to online tools, may increase its use, internationally. This unfortu- nate era could create a free environment to find new routes, and make adjustments to arbitrations. In this respect, most of the arbitral institutions have declared their willingness and preparation to continue their services (i.e. Interna- tional Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”), the London Court of Inter- national Arbitration (“LCIA”), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) amongst many others) 1 . Many major arbitral institutions have published notes, guidelines and resources for the parties, counsel, and the tribunals, to provide guidance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this respect, on 09.04.2020, the ICC released its Guidance Note on Possible Measures Aimed at Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic (“ICC Guidance”) 2 . This newsletter article will provide general considerations on the impact of the COVID-19 on arbitrations and highlights of the ICC Guidance. * Article of April, 2020 1 Many of these arbitral institutions came together and released a joint statement to put forth their cooperation. Please see; https://iccwbo.org/publication/arbitral- institutions-joint-statement-in-the-wake-of-the-covid-19-outbreak/ 2 For the full text of the Guidance, please see; https://iccwbo.org/publication/arbi- tral-institutions-joint-statement-in-the-wake-of-the-covid-19-outbreak/