THE USUAL SUSPECTS CONFERENCE (2ND EDITION) -

Presentation

“Guidelines: Do We Need Them? Do We Use Them?” - An informal discussion of the growing role of institutional guidelines, recommendation, best practices etc. in shaping arbitral practice — from conflicts of interest and evidence to damages, efficiency, ethics and "conduct". Are guidelines indispensable to promote efficiency and legitimacy? Or have they become de facto rules, narrowing discretion and needlessly standardising what was meant to remain flexible? Which guidelines are commonly accepted and why?

This debate will confront the tension between discretion and direction, persuasion and pressure. Do practitioners rely on guidelines for clarity — or invoke them strategically? Are tribunals guided by them, constrained by them, or selectively inspired?