Introduction
In international arbitration, a party may submit evidence in
different categories. Opinions of expert witnesses forms one of
these categories. Expert opinions are mostly relied upon in complex
cases that require special knowledge, such as construction, oil and
gas, and insurance disputes, or in cases where damages quantum
needs to be determined.
Expert witnesses can be appointed both by the parties and the
arbitral tribunals. Most of the rules of the institutions allow
tribunals to appoint expert witnesses. In practice, it is common
for the parties to appoint their own experts and present expert
report. In cases where the tribunal chooses to appoint an expert,
it should set the boundaries of the expert's duty, and be
careful not to delegate its own responsibilities to the expert. In
some cases, the tribunal requests the parties to submit a list of
experts over whom they can make a determination - this is most
common in damages calculation.
