Prague Rules officially took off
The new «civil-law» set of rules for taking evidence in international arbitration was officially signed 14th of Deceber 2018 in Prague after 4 years of its drafting.
The opening ceremony organized by the Arbitration Association, Global Arbitration Review (GAR) and The Law Offices of Prof. Dr. Alexander Bělohlávekwas held in a privately owned historical location Martinický palác (Martinic Palace) in the Prague’s old city.
The conference dedicated to the Prague Rules gathered more than 150 arbitration practitioners, experts, and in-house lawyers from world’s top companies and was followed by the official signing ceremony of the Prague Rules signatory book, which will be deposited in Prague.
Opening the official launch conference, Prof. Dr. Alexander Bělohlávek underlined that Prague Rules is nearly 10 years of hard work and is a collective contribution of a multitude of professionals. The Prague Rules are here to help and give a viable alternative where applicable, he noted.
Vladimir Khvalei, Chariman of the Arbitration Association, gave the drafting history of the Prague Rules. The Prague Rules has had 6 drafts, which are now developed into drafts in 4 languages – English, Russian, French and Spanish. The Rules were discussed at arbitration events in 15 countries, from US to China.
The scope of the rules is broader, than taking evidence – they are about the role of the tribunal in arbitration, underlined Vladimir Khvalei. The speaker named the key features of the Prague Rules, the most important of them being the active role of the tribunal in arbitration proceedings.
An extensive conference on different aspects of presenting evidence in international arbitration in the context of the new rules was followed by the signing ceremony and a reception.
Representatives of leading national arbitration associations from european and CIS countries as well as renowned individual arbitrators have signed the Prague Rules.
The event was sponsored by Deloitte, BDO, King&Wood Malessons and Haberman Ilett. Czech yearbook on international law, Czech & Central European yearbook of arbitration as well as SBH law offices and Baker McKenzie supported the conference.