Arbitration Rules

The following rules have been agreed for Bar Council arbitrations. Please note, arbitrations are only available to barristers who have paid the Members Services Fee.

1. Preamble

1.1 The objective of these rules ("the Rules") is to provide for the fair, impartial, confidential, swift and final resolution of disputes between members of the Bar, sets of chambers, clerks and other staff or any of them.

1.2 The parties may vary any provisions of these Rules by agreement with the tribunal ("the Tribunal").

1.3 These Rules are not gender-discriminatory. Where appropriate references to the masculine shall include the feminine and references to the singular include the plural.

2. Appointment of Tribunal

2.1 The Tribunal shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Bar.

2.2 The Tribunal shall comprise a panel of one subscribing member of the Bar and one qualified member of the IBC.

2.3 The commencement date of the arbitration is that date on which the Tribunal notifies the parties in writing that it has accepted its appointment as the Tribunal.

2.4 In the event of one or both members of the Tribunal being unwilling or unable to act at any stage, or in the event of a challenge by a party to the appointment of the Tribunal, the Chairman of the Bar shall determine any challenge and, where appropriate, appoint a replacement individual or panel, at its discretion, following consultation with the parties.

2.5 The Tribunal may appoint an assessor ("the Assessor") to assist it on any technical matters if the parties agree to pay the reasonable fees of such Assessor.

3. Procedure

3.1 The Tribunal shall determine the dispute on the evidence put before it but shall not be bound by the strict rules of evidence. The Tribunal must act fairly and impartially as between the parties, giving each side a reasonable opportunity of putting his case and dealing with that of his opponent.

3.2 The parties must do everything necessary to enable the arbitration to be dealt with promptly and properly. This includes complying with any decisions made by the Tribunal without delay, providing reasonable administrative facilities for the Tribunal at the parties' shared cost and ensuring that all documents sent to the Tribunal are copied to all other parties.

3.3 As soon as possible after its appointment the Tribunal shall write to the parties. It will inform them of the date by which particulars of the dispute should be submitted to it, including the issues to be determined, the names of any proposed witnesses and the substance of the evidence that those witnesses will give. The closing date for submission of such particulars shall be no later than 28 days after the date of the Tribunal's initial letter. The Tribunal shall contact the parties no later than 7 days after receiving those particulars to arrange a date for a preliminary meeting.

3.4 Alternatively, where appropriate, the Tribunal may choose to arrange a preliminary meeting without seeking particulars in advance. If so, it will write to the parties to inform them of the arrangements for the preliminary meeting, listing the information which will be sought at that meeting.

3.5 At the preliminary meeting after consultation with the parties the Tribunal will:

3.5.1 confirm with the parties the issues to be determined in the arbitration;

3.5.2 decide whether the arbitration is to be by way of:

(a) written submissions and documentary evidence only ("a Documents Only Arbitration"); or

(b) a hearing where documentary and oral evidence will be considered and which both parties will be expected to attend ("an Oral Hearing");

but if either party requires an Oral Hearing, the Tribunal shall so order;

3.5.3 where the dispute is to be dealt by a Documents Only Arbitration, set a date by which any documents and written arguments relied upon by the parties should be sent to the Tribunal;

3.5.4 where the dispute is to be dealt with by way of an Oral Hearing, make provision for the following matters, as appropriate:

(a) set the date, time and place for the hearing with an estimate of the duration of the hearing and make provision for other administrative arrangements for the smooth running of the hearing;

(b) ask each party to submit to the Tribunal and to all other parties within a specified time any further documents or other evidence which he thinks would be relevant to the issues in dispute, including any documents which could assist any other party's case. The parties must comply with any request for evidence made by the Tribunal unless the party holding the evidence has an acceptable reason in law for not doing so;

(c) decide the number and identity of witnesses who will give oral evidence at the hearing and the issues to be covered by each witness;

(d) agree the identity or discipline of any Assessor to be appointed by the Tribunal and the issues to be covered by such Assessor.

3.6 Where the dispute is dealt with by way of an Oral Hearing, either party may call witnesses of fact and character witnesses but not expert witnesses. The Tribunal shall have the right to refuse to allow either party to call a witness or witnesses. The Tribunal shall give reasons at the preliminary meeting for any refusal to allow a witness to give oral evidence.

3.7 The Tribunal shall have the right to limit the amount of documentation submitted by each party in support of his case by number, category or issue and any Oral Hearing shall last for no more than one day save in exceptional cases where the Tribunal considers the dispute to justify a longer hearing.

3.8 At all stages in the arbitration, including the preliminary meeting, any orders made and any agreements reached involving the arbitration procedures and evidence will be recorded by the Tribunal in writing and sent to each party.

3.9 Written evidence not submitted to the Tribunal within the prescribed time limits and any evidence on issues not identified at the preliminary meeting will not be considered in the arbitration unless the Tribunal otherwise agrees.

3.10 If either party fails or refuses to comply with these Rules or with any order made by the Tribunal or to attend any meeting or hearing the Tribunal may proceed to determine the dispute on the material submitted in accordance with these Rules.

3.11 At any stage of the arbitration at the request of the parties the arbitration shall be suspended for such period as the Tribunal considers appropriate to enable the parties to attempt to resolve the dispute by conciliation and a conciliator shall be appointed for that purpose by agreement of the parties or nominated by the Tribunal.

4. Representation

4.1 The parties will not be legally represented at any hearing save where such representation is necessary to place the parties on an equal footing at the discretion of the Tribunal. Any such legal representation may include a member of the Bar, a member of the IBC and a member of the Barristers' Complaints Advisory Service.

4.2 Subject to the above, each party may appear in person at the hearing or may be represented at the hearing by an appropriate representative (not acting as a legal representative) such as the head of chambers, another member of chambers or a clerk.

5. Conduct of an Oral Hearing

5.1 At the start of the hearing the party who initiated the complaint or claim ("the Claimant") will present his case referring to the documentary evidence and, where appropriate, call any witnesses identified at the preliminary meeting. The party or parties against whom the complaint or claim has been made ("the Respondents") will not be allowed to ask any questions of the Claimant or his witnesses but the Tribunal may ask questions to clarify or test the information presented.

5.2 Each Respondent will then present his case in the same way, responding where appropriate to the Claimant's case.

5.3 The Claimant will have an opportunity to respond to the Respondent's case by way of further submissions.

5.4 The hearing will not be formally recorded although the parties may take notes.

5.5 At any stage of the hearing, at the request of the parties or where considered appropriate by the Tribunal, the hearing may be interrupted to enable the parties to negotiate.

5.6 If as a result of negotiations the parties come to an agreement, they shall present their agreement to the Tribunal. The Tribunal will then:

(a) issue an order that the Arbitration is terminated subject to the parties' agreement to settle the dispute; and

(b) if the parties require, record the settlement in the form of an agreed award.

5.7 If no agreement is reached during the course of the hearing, following presentation of the evidence and submissions, the hearing will then be concluded and the Tribunal will make its decision in accordance with paragraph 7 below.

6. Conduct of a Documents Only Arbitration

6.1 Where the arbitration takes the form of a Documents Only Arbitration the Tribunal shall consider the papers submitted to it as soon as possible after receipt of the submissions and evidence directed to be furnished at the preliminary meeting.

6.2 Not later than 14 days after receipt of the information so ordered the Tribunal shall send to the parties a written summary of the facts of the case.

6.3 If any party disagrees with any part of the summary he must inform the Tribunal of any disagreement and the reasons for it within 7 days of receipt of the summary. If no reply has been received from a party within the time limit the Tribunal will assume that the parties agree with the summary.

6.4 The Tribunal shall take into account any disagreements registered by the parties under paragraph 6.3 above but shall not be bound to accept them.

7. Decision

7.1 The Tribunal shall issue its decision ("the Decision") to the parties within 7 days of an Oral Hearing or, in the case of a Documents Only Arbitration, within 7 days of the expiry of the time for any responses to the Tribunal's written summary of the case.

7.2 If, at any stage prior to the issue of the Tribunal's decision, the parties reach an agreement resolving the dispute, the parties shall so inform the Tribunal and the Tribunal shall act in accordance with paragraph 5.6 above.

7.3 Unless otherwise provided in the Decision the payment of any sum including interest awarded to a party shall be paid by the party so ordered within 14 days of the receipt from the Tribunal of the Decision.

8. Costs

8.1 The parties shall pay their own costs of the arbitration.

8.2 The Tribunal shall not have any power to order either party to pay the costs of any other party or of the arbitration.

9. Jurisdiction of the Tribunal

9.1 The Tribunal shall have the widest discretion permitted by law to ensure the just, prompt, economical and final determination of the dispute and the Decision may include an order for the payment of a sum of money including interest where appropriate.

9.2 The Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to:

(a) settle any question as to the existence, validity or termination of any agreement between the parties;

(b) amend any agreement between the parties but only where it is necessary to correct a clear error, mistake or omission which is common to both parties and is allowed by law;

(d) decide any question that may arise as to its own jurisdiction;

(e) decide any question that may arise as to the application and/or interpretation of these Rules.