Abstract

Until recently, the practice of conducting arbitration hearings by means of video-conference was reserved for exceptional cases and was often limited to hearing less important witnesses. This has changed upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide restrictions on travelling and gathering in larger numbers in one place. The lockdown that has affected all of us has made remote hearings a new standard of both national and international arbitration practice overnight. This article is intended to introduce the issues of this type of hearings, and in particular to discuss their typology and characteristics, as well as the challenges that their organization and conduct entails. The paper also presents an analysis of the regulations that underlie remote arbitration hearings, special emphasis being placed on the regulations and guidelines of leading international arbitration institutions.