R38 Request for Arbitration
The party intending to submit a reference to arbitration under these Procedural Rules shall file a request with the CAS containing :
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the name and address of the Respondent;
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a brief statement of the facts and legal argument, including a statement of the issue to be submitted to the CAS for determination;
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the Claimant’s request for relief;
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a copy of the contract containing the arbitration agreement or of any document providing for arbitration in accordance with these Procedural Rules;
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any relevant information about the number and choice of the arbitrator(s), in particular if the arbitration agreement provides for three arbitrators, the name and address of the arbitrator chosen by the Claimant from the CAS list of names.
Upon filing its request, the Claimant shall pay the Court Office fee provided in Article R64.1. If the above-mentioned requirements are not fulfilled when the request for arbitration is filed, the CAS Court Office shall grant once only a short deadline to the Claimant to complete his request, failing which it shall be deemed withdrawn.
R39 Initiation of the Arbitration by the CAS and Answer
Unless it is apparent from the outset that there is manifestly no arbitration agreement referring to the CAS, the Court Office shall take all appropriate actions to set the arbitration in motion. To this effect, it shall in particular communicate the request to the Respondent, call upon the parties to express themselves on the law applicable to the merits of the dispute and set time limits for the Respondent to submit any relevant information about the number and choice of the arbitrator(s), in particular to appoint an arbitrator from the CAS list, as well as to file an answer to the request for arbitration. The answer shall contain :
R40 Formation of the Panel
R40.1 Number of Arbitrators
The Panel is composed of one or three arbitrators. If the arbitration agreement does not specify the number of arbitrators, the President of the Division shall determine the number, taking into account the amount in dispute and the complexity of the dispute.
R40.2 Appointment of the Arbitrators
The parties may agree on the method of appointment of the arbitrators. In the absence of an agreement, the arbitrators shall be appointed in accordance with the following paragraphs.
If, by virtue of the arbitration agreement or a decision of the President of the Division, a sole arbitrator is to be appointed, the parties may select him by mutual agreement within a time limit of fifteen days set by the Court Office upon receipt of the request. In the absence of an agreement being reached within that time limit, the President of the Division shall proceed with the appointment.
If, by virtue of the arbitration agreement or a decision of the President of the Division, three arbitrators are to be appointed, the Claimant shall appoint its arbitrator in the request or within the time limit set in the decision on the number of arbitrators and the Respondent shall appoint its arbitrator within the time limit set by the Court Office upon receipt of the request. In the absence of such appointment, the President of the Division shall proceed with the appointment in lieu of the parties. The two arbitrators so appointed shall select the President of the Panel by mutual agreement within a time limit set by the Court Office. In the absence of an agreement being reached within that time limit, the President of the Division shall appoint the President of the Panel in lieu of the two arbitrators.
R40.3 Confirmation of the Arbitrators and Transfer of the File
Any arbitrator selected by the parties or by other arbitrators shall only be deemed appointed after confirmation by the President of the Division. Before proceeding with such confirmation, the latter shall ascertain that the arbitrator fulfils the requirements of Article R33.
Once the Panel is formed, the Court Office takes notice of the formation and transfers the file to the arbitrators.
R41 Multiparty Arbitration
R41.1 Plurality of Claimants / Respondents
If the request for arbitration names several Claimants and/or Respondents, the CAS shall proceed with the formation of the Panel in accordance with the number of arbitrators and the method of appointment agreed by all parties. In the absence of such an agreement, the President of the Division shall decide on the number of arbitrators in accordance with Article R40.1.
If a sole arbitrator is to be appointed, Article R40.2 shall apply. If three arbitrators are to be appointed and there are several Claimants, the Claimants shall jointly appoint an arbitrator. If three arbitrators are to be appointed and there are several Respondents, the Respondents shall jointly appoint an arbitrator. In the absence of such a joint appointment, the President of the Division shall proceed with the appointment in lieu of the Claimants/Respondents. If there are three or more parties with divergent interests, both arbitrators shall be appointed in accordance with the agreement between the parties. In the absence of such agreement, the arbitrators shall be appointed by the President of the Division in accordance with Article R40.2. In all cases, the arbitrators shall select the President of the Panel in accordance with Article R40.2.
R41.2 Joinder
If a Respondent intends to cause a third party to participate in the arbitration, it shall mention it in its answer, together with the reasons therefor, and file an additional copy of its answer. The Court Office shall communicate this copy to the person whose participation is requested and set such person a time limit to state its position on its participation and to submit a response pursuant to Article R39. It shall also set a time limit for the Claimant to express its position on the participation of the third party.
R41.3 Intervention
If a third party intends to participate as a party in the arbitration, it shall file with the CAS an application to this effect, together with the reasons therefor within the time limit set for the Respondent’s answer to the request for arbitration. To the extent applicable, such application shall have the same contents as a request for arbitration. The Court Office shall communicate a copy of this application to the parties and set a time limit for them to express their position on the participation of the third party and to file, to the extent applicable, an answer pursuant to Article R39.
R41.4 Joint Provisions on Joinder and Intervention
A third party may only participate in the arbitration if it is bound by the arbitration agreement or if itself and the other parties agree in writing.
Upon expiration of the time limit set in Articles R41.2 and R41.3, the President of the Division or the Panel, if it has already been appointed, shall decide on the participation of the third party, taking into account, in particular, the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement as referred to in Article R39 above. The decision of the President of the Division shall be without prejudice to the decision of the Panel on the same matter.
If the President of the Division accepts the participation of the third party, the CAS shall proceed with the formation of the Panel in accordance with the number of arbitrators and the method of appointment agreed by all parties. In the absence of such an agreement between the parties, the President of the Division shall decide on the number of arbitrators in accordance with Article R40.1. If a sole arbitrator is to be appointed, Article R40.2 shall apply. If three arbitrators are to be appointed, the arbitrators shall be appointed by the President of the Division and shall choose the President of the Panel in accordance with Article R40.2.
Regardless of the decision of the Panel on the participation of the third party, the formation of the Panel cannot be challenged. In the event that the Panel accepts the participation, it shall, if required, issue related procedural directions.
R42 Conciliation
The President of the Division, before the transfer of the file to the Panel, and thereafter the Panel may at any time seek to resolve the dispute by conciliation. Any settlement may be embodied in an arbitral award rendered by consent of the parties.
R43 Confidentiality Proceedings under these Procedural Rules are confidential. The parties, the arbitrators and the CAS undertake not to disclose to any third party any facts or other information relating to the dispute or the proceedings. Awards shall not be made public unless the award itself so provides or all parties agree.
R44 Procedure before the Panel
R44.1 Written Submissions
The procedure before the Panel comprises written submissions and, if the Panel deems it appropriate, an oral hearing. Upon receipt of the file, the President of the Panel, if appropriate, shall issue directions in connection with the written submissions. As a general rule, there shall be one statement of claim, one response and, if the circumstances so require, one reply and one second response. The parties may, in the statement of claim and in the response, raise claims not contained in the request for arbitration and in the answer to the request. Thereafter, no party may raise any new claim without the consent of the other party.
Together with their written submissions, the parties shall produce all written evidence upon which they intend to rely. After the exchange of the written submissions, the parties shall not be authorized to produce further written evidence, except by mutual agreement or if the Panel so permits on the basis of exceptional circumstances.
In their written submissions, the parties shall specify any witnesses and experts which they intend to call and state any other evidentiary measure which they request. Any witness statements shall be filed together with the parties’ submissions.
R44.2 Hearing
Once the exchange of pleadings is closed, the President of the Panel shall issue directions with respect to the hearing and in particular set the hearing date. As a general rule, there shall be one hearing during which the Panel hears the parties, the witnesses and the expert as well as the parties’ final oral arguments, for which the Respondent has the floor last.
The President of the Panel shall conduct the hearing and ensure that the statements made are concise and limited to the subject of the written presentations, to the extent that these presentations are relevant. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the hearings are not public. Minutes of the hearing may be taken. Any person heard by the Panel may be assisted by an interpreter at the cost of the party which called such person.
The parties call to be heard by the Panel such witnesses and experts which they have specified in their written submissions. The parties are responsible for the availability and costs of the witnesses and experts called to be heard.
The President of the Panel may exceptionally authorize the hearing of witnesses and experts via tele- or video-conference. With the agreement of the parties, he may also exempt a witness/expert from appearing at the hearing if the latter has previously filed a statement.
The Panel may limit or disallow the appearance of any witness or expert on the grounds of irrelevance.
Before hearing any witness, expert or interpreter, the Panel shall solemnly invite such persons to tell the truth, subject to the sanctions of perjury.
Once the hearing is closed, the parties shall not be authorized to produce further written pleadings, unless the Panel so orders.
After consulting the parties, the Panel may, if it deems itself to be sufficiently well informed, decide not to hold a hearing.
R44.3 Evidentiary Proceedings Ordered by the Panel
A party may request the Panel to order the other party to produce documents in its custody or under its control. The party seeking such production shall demonstrate that the documents are likely to exist and to be relevant.
If it deems it appropriate to supplement the presentations of the parties, the Panel may at any time order the production of additional documents or the examination of witnesses, appoint and hear experts, and proceed with any other procedural act. The Panel may order the parties to contribute to any additional costs related to the hearing of witnesses and experts.
The Panel shall consult the parties with respect to the appointment and terms of reference of such expert. The expert appointed by the Panel shall be and remain independent of the parties and shall immediately disclose any circumstances likely to affect his independence with respect to any of the parties.
R44.4 Expedited Procedure
With the consent of the parties, the Panel may proceed in an expedited manner for which it shall issue appropriate directions.
R44.5 Default
If the Claimant fails to submit its statement of claim in accordance with Article R44.1 of the Code, the request for arbitration shall be deemed withdrawn.
If the Respondent fails to submit its response in accordance with Article R44.1 of the Code, the Panel may nevertheless proceed with the arbitration and deliver an award.
If any of the parties is duly summoned yet fails to appear at the hearing, the Panel may nevertheless proceed with the hearing.
R45 Law Applicable to the Merits
The Panel shall decide the dispute according to the rules of law chosen by the parties or, in the absence of such a choice, according to Swiss law. The parties may authorize the Panel to decide ex aequo et bono.
R46 Award
The award shall be made by a majority decision, or, in the absence of a majority, by the President alone. The award shall be written, dated and signed. Unless the parties agree otherwise, it shall briefly state reasons. The signature of the President of the Panel shall suffice. Before the award is signed, it shall be transmitted to the CAS Secretary General who may make rectifications of pure form and may also draw the attention of the Panel to fundamental issues of principle.
The award notified by the CAS Court Office shall be final and binding upon the parties. It may not be challenged by way of an action for setting aside to the extent that the parties have no domicile, habitual residence, or business establishment in Switzerland and that they have expressly excluded all setting aside proceedings in the arbitration agreement or in an agreement entered into subsequently, in particular at the outset of the arbitration.
