Revised rules tackle time and cost considerations with provisions for consolidation and expedited procedures.
The new arbitration rules of the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) come into force on 1 March 2017. VIAC President Tran Huu Huynh recently presented the changes to an audience of government, law, and industry representatives. He outlined procedures to bring claims arising out of multiple contracts (Article 6), to consolidate arbitral proceedings (Article 15), and an expedited arbitration procedure (Article 37).
With these new rules, the VIAC joins a growing list of arbitral institutions around the world that make provision for consolidation of claims and expedited proceedings in appropriate circumstances.
The new rules aim to reduce the time and costs of VIAC arbitration proceedings:
These three new articles in VIAC’s rules provide parties with the option to consolidate proceedings and to conduct arbitrations on expedited terms. By giving parties new tools to shape the arbitral process, time and costs may be reduced. It appears that the articles can only be invoked by parties in agreement; they do not appear to allow a party to apply to the VIAC for consolidation or expedited arbitration where the other party or parties do not agree. Time will tell whether this will affect how frequently the articles will be invoked.