When Enough Is Enough: The ArbitralTribunal’s Power to Stay or TerminateProceedings due to Party Non-compliancewith Procedural Obligations

Abstract

Parties to arbitration often ‘cry foul’ and complain about alleged procedural violations by the opposing side. If there is a breach, tribunals may usually choose from a range of potential mechanisms to enforce compliance. In limited cases, this may include the stay or termination of the arbitration. This chapter will analyse both situations in which arbitration laws and arbitration rules expressly provide for the stay and termination of proceedings in reaction to a procedural breach, as well as situations in which such a measure is deemed possible even without an express rule to this effect. In this regard, a particular focus of the chapter will be on the consequences related to the failure by a claimant to provide security for costs.