The newly published 2006 Special Supplement to the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin provides a panorama of document production processes in different parts of the world and practical suggestions on how to make the production of documents more efficient in international arbitration.

This year’s Special Supplement to the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin looks at a subject that is of particular interest to practitioners – the production of documentary evidence in international arbitration proceedings. As the quantity of documents produced increases, there is a growing risk of the process getting out of hand. The purpose of this new publication is to provide an overview of law and practice relating to document production in different parts of the world and to offer suggestions on how the process might be made more efficient in international arbitration.

To this end, some of today’s most prominent arbitration specialists compare the document production process in State court proceedings with that practised in international arbitration in their respective countries and regions. Both common law and civil law jurisdictions are covered, with articles on the Arab world (A.S. El-Kosheri & M.S.A. Wahab), England (V.V. Veeder), Latin America (H.A. Grigera Naón), Singapore (M. Hwang & A. Chin), Switzerland (P. Habegger) and the USA (L.B. Kimmelman & D.C. MacGrath). The practices adopted by ICC arbitral tribunals are also discussed and illustrated with extracts from procedural orders.

In addition, the book describes how greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness could be achieved in the document production process, with Yves Derains considering the question from a Continental perspective and Robert H. Smit from a North American standpoint. There is also an article by Nicholas Fletcher on the use that may be made of technological resources in the collection, management and disclosure of documents.

In his conclusion to the book, Bernard Hanotiau proposes a blueprint for document production in international arbitration based on widely adopted practice. His proposal covers the presentation and handling of document production requests, document production orders and confidentiality.

Documents are the principal form of evidence used in international commercial arbitration. As Pierre Tercier, Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration, points out in his foreword to the book, the proliferation of documents is seen by some practitioners as undermining the very nature of arbitration. One of the aims of the book is therefore ‘to suggest ways of overcoming the unwieldiness of document production in international commercial arbitration’.

Document Production in International Arbitration is published in separate English and French editions and is distributed as part of the 2006 subscription to the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin. It may also be purchased separately from ICC’s online bookstore www.iccbooks.com .

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