The purpose of the Online Hearing Procedures and Principles is to set out the procedures and principles that will be applied in hearings held by participants via telephone conference or video conference without physically meeting in arbitrations conducted under the CI Justice Rules. The term “hearing” as used in these Procedures and Principles will be understood to mean an online hearing.
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may, at the request of a party or on their own initiative, determine rules that differ from the procedures and principles proposed herein, provided that the statutory right to be heard is respected.

Decision on the Hearing
At the request of a party or if the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal deems it appropriate, hearings or meetings may be held via video conference technology.

Preparation for the Hearing
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal, by taking the views of the parties, shall determine before the hearing the software that will be used to hold the hearing, the measures to be taken for the confidentiality and security of the hearing, and other matters such as the telephone number, link, username or password required for participants to participate in the hearing, and shall determine the technical infrastructure for the hearing and communicate with the parties.
Persons attending the hearing must ensure that the necessary technical equipment and software are available to participate and that the venue is safe and suitable for hearing.

The sole arbitrator, the arbitral tribunal or the parties may request support from the IT Centre at CI Justice on technical issues related to the hearing. The IT Centre at CI Justice will provide clarifications and support to the arbitrators and parties on technical issues to the extent possible.

Persons attending the hearing
The parties must notify the sole arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal before the hearing of the persons who will attend the hearing.

During the hearing, the parties will not include any third party other than those who have been notified and allowed to attend the hearing.

Audio Management
In order not to affect the quality of the image and sound during the hearing, only one person will speak at a time and other participants in the hearing will mute their microphones. The party wishing to speak will speak when the sole arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal gives the floor.

Submission of documents at the hearing
It is possible to submit documents electronically during the hearing, provided that the sole arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal has given permission.

Legal right to be heard during the hearing
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal must exercise due diligence to ensure that the parties and other interested parties have the opportunity to be present at the hearing and that the right to be heard is not violated.

If the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal is satisfied that the right to be heard during the hearing has been violated, the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may terminate the hearing at any time, stating the reason.

Hearing witnesses or experts at the hearing
If it is decided to hear witnesses or experts during the online hearing, the witnesses or experts will attend the hearing via video and video conference. The witness or expert participating in the online hearing will be present on camera and their face will be visible.
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal will decide whether the witness or expert can keep any documents with them. The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may allow a particular document to be shown to a witness during the hearing. If the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal deems it appropriate, the document to be shown to the witness may be shared electronically during the hearing and questions may be asked.

Use of interpreters
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may allow the use of an interpreter at the hearing, if necessary. In such a case, the party requesting the interpretation will provide an interpreter to attend the hearing. Information about the interpreter will be notified to the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal in advance. The interpreter may be present alongside the person for whom he or she is interpreting, or he or she may attend the hearing remotely.

Record of the hearing
The sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may decide to record the hearing by audio or video by notifying the parties. The records will be shared with the parties after the hearing.
The arbitrator or arbitral tribunal may decide to transcribe the audio recordings at the expense of the parties.
Video or audio recordings are prohibited at any stage of the hearing without the consent of the sole arbitrator or arbitral tribunal.

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