During the Paris Arbitration Week events, a lot of interesting issues were raised. Although the format of the blog does not allow  us to get into the details, here are the most recent arbitration problems all over the world.

Different approaches to witness evidence in international arbitration

One of the most debatable topics is the attitude to the preparation of witnesses before the hearings. Such witness coaching is widespread in the American legal culture. Lawyer is expected to prepare witnesses and can even rephrase what they say. The only limit is that an attorney can’t make his witness to say something which he knows is false.  In the Switzerland, such approach is unacceptable. In France preparing of witnesses is usually seen as a part of a mission of international commercial lawyer. However, it should be noted that there is a clear line between witness-coaching and witness familiarisation. Such diversity in the approaches may create a problem in cross-border proceedings involving lawyers from different legal cultures. If one witness was coached by his lawyers and the other was not, it creates imbalance. Another problem is that lawyers in international firms usually come from various  jurisdictions with different ethical rules. Click here to see more !