Hearing
An "arbitration hearing" can be either procedural or evidentiary. As in court systems, a "procedural hearing" focuses exclusively on how the proceedings are to be conducted. By contrast, an "evidentiary hearing" is the equivalent to what in the courts of many countries would be called a trial, with the presentation of evidence in the form of documents and witnesses. Although evidentiary hearings are generally available as a means to assist the arbitral tribunal in deciding contested factual issues, arbitration rules do not usually require them and leave the means of decided disputed factual issues to the discretion of the tribunal. Many decisions of arbitral tribunals are made without any hearing at all.
Where it may be appropriate to do so, arbitral tribunals can make decisions solely upon documentary evidence, which may or may not be accompanied by witness statements, which in the US are referred to as affidavits. Witness statements represent the testimony a witness would give if called to testify, and on which the witness is subject to questioning by the arbitral tribunal and, at times, cross examination by the other party.
Specific types of arbitration, for example, may rely exclusively on documents to decide disputes, such as in the growing field of online dispute resolution. In addition, some organizations, may specifically provide provide as part of their organizational bylaws or standard terms and conditions that disputes shall be arbitrated without an oral hearing and upon documentary evidence only, an example being certain trade associations, such as GAFTA
Read more about this topic: Arbitral Tribunal
Famous quotes containing the word hearing:
“It was my thirtieth year to heaven
Woke to my hearing from harbor and neighbor wood”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“With all the gracious utterance thou hast
Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Ah, Governor [Murphy, of New Jersey], don’t try to deceive me as to the sentiment of the dear people. I have been hearing from the West and the East, and the South seems to be the only section which approves of me at all, and that comes from merely a generous impulse, for even that section would deny me its votes.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)