Practice Note No.

1, effective August 3, 2020

GUIDELINES ON ONLINE MEETINGS AND VIRTUAL HEARINGS

The Secretariat has issued this Practice Note No. 1 to serve as Guidelines for the parties
and arbitral tribunals in holding online meetings and virtual hearings.

1. Discretion of arbitral tribunal to hold online meetings and virtual hearings

The arbitral tribunal under Article 23 of the PDRCI Arbitration Rules (“Rules”) may
conduct the arbitration in such manner as it considers appropriate, including holding
online meetings and virtual hearings, provided that the parties are treated with equality
and given a reasonable opportunity to present their case. Under the same Article, the
arbitral tribunal shall provide a fair and efficient process of resolving the dispute,
avoiding unnecessary delay and expense.

As a general rule, the arbitral tribunal is not required to hold a hearing for the
presentation of evidence, including expert testimony, or for oral argument unless
requested by a party (Art. 23, par. 3). In the absence of such a request, the arbitral
tribunal may decide whether to hold such hearings or whether the proceedings shall be
conducted on the basis of documents and other materials (Id.).

If a party requests a hearing or if the arbitral tribunal decides to hold one, the hearing
shall be held in person unless the parties agree otherwise (Art. 36, par. 3). However, the
arbitral tribunal may prescribe conditions and adopt appropriate measures where in-
person hearings are not possible, such as in times of crisis, national emergency, or a
pandemic. In appropriate cases, the arbitral tribunal may direct the examination of
witnesses, including expert witnesses, by means of telecommunication (such as audio or
video conference) that do not require their physical presence at the place of the hearing
(Art. 36, par. 4).

2. Case management conference

Where a party requests a virtual hearing or the arbitral tribunal decides that a virtual
hearing is necessary to provide a fair and efficient process of resolving the dispute, it shall
first issue a procedural order inviting the parties to an online case management
conference to consult them on the following matters:

a. Procedural Timetable or Revised Procedural Timetable

b. Terms of Reference or Revised Terms of Reference
c. Determination of issues
d. Submission of further written statements, witness statements, documents, expert
reports, and other evidence
e. Particulars of applicable procedural rules other than the Rules
f. Appointment of the arbitral tribunal’s expert, if necessary
g. Authority of arbitral tribunal to act ex aequo et bono
h. Creation of an online case record

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Practice Note No. 1, Guidelines on Online Meetings and Virtual Hearings

i. Adoption of an expedited proceeding under Art. 52 of the Rules

j. Other relevant matters

The parties may agree in the Terms of Reference (or in a revised Terms of Reference, if
they have agreed to one) to adopt this Guidelines as part of the arbitration procedure or
to further limit the issues to be determined at the hearing, among others.

The parties may sign or conform to the Terms of Reference electronically. Where the
parties are unable to sign or conform to the Terms of Reference within a reasonable time,
the arbitral tribunal may issue the Terms of Reference in the form of a procedural order.

At the close of the case management conference, the arbitral tribunal shall issue a
procedural order confirming the matters agreed upon by the parties, including the
revision of the Procedural Timetable and the Terms of Reference, as well as the matters
not agreed upon by the parties but left to the discretion of the arbitral tribunal.

The procedural order shall explicitly state if the arbitral tribunal will adopt this
Guidelines as part of the arbitration procedure. The procedural order shall also set the
dates and times of the virtual hearings and state the contact details of the parties, their
representatives, counsel, and the witnesses for purposes of setting up the virtual hearing
room.

3. Minimum standards for virtual hearings

Where the parties have not agreed on the procedure for conducting the virtual hearing,
the parties and the tribunal shall observe the following minimum standards:

1. Within the period stated in the Procedural Timetable, any further written
statements, witness statements, documents, expert reports, and other evidence
shall be submitted to the Secretariat in electronic form for uploading to the online
case record at least five days before the initial date of the virtual hearings. The
parties shall simultaneously communicate the same documents in electronic form
to the other parties.

2. Further written statements, witness statements, expert reports, and black-and-

white documents shall be submitted and communicated in .pdf file format with a
resolution of at least 300 dpi. Black-and-white documents with text font sizes
smaller than 10 points shall have a resolution of at least 400 dpi. Colored
documents shall be submitted and communicated in .pdf file format with a
resolution of 600 dpi. Colored photographs shall be in .jpg or .png format with a
resolution of 600 dpi.

3. Further written statements shall be printed single spaced on letter size paper
using twelve (12) points font size, with a one-inch (1”) margin on all sides. The
arbitral tribunal may limit the length or pages of the written statements, after
consultation with the parties.
Practice Note No. 1, Guidelines on Online Meetings and Virtual Hearings

4. Witness statements shall be in narrative or question-and-answer (“Q&A”) form,

signed under oath or affirmation by the witness(es), and shall discuss each issue
separately. The arbitral tribunal may limit the length of testimony on each issue
by limiting the number of paragraphs, in case of a narrative statement, or the
number of Q&As per issue, after consultation with the parties. The witness
statements need not include any legal arguments, which may be discussed
through further written statements or in closing memorials that may be allowed
by the arbitral tribunal. No joint witness statement shall be allowed.

5. Claimant’s evidence shall be marked as Exhs. “C,” “C-1,” “C-2,” et sequentia, while
respondent’s evidence shall be marked as Exhs. “R,” R-1,” “R-2,” et sequentia. In
case of multiple parties, the arbitral tribunal may adopt any appropriate marking
to distinguish the evidence submitted by the parties. Common evidence need not
be marked separately. Witness statements need not be marked as evidence.

6. On the first page of their respective bundles of evidence, the parties shall each
submit a summary of their respective evidence, containing the (a) exhibit marking,
(b) a description of each evidence, sufficiently detailed to distinguish it from other
evidence, and (c) if desired, the fact(s) in issue proved and the legal issue(s)
supported by the evidence. The arbitral tribunal shall have the documents
paginated consecutively. It may also require the submission of a common bundle
of documents or limit the file size of electronic documents. Whenever necessary,
the arbitral tribunal shall give the parties an equal time to submit a summary or a
revised summary of their evidence after the virtual hearing.

7. The arbitral tribunal may give the parties’ experts an equal opportunity to
respond to each other’s reports and to submit their rebuttal expert reports at least
five days before their scheduled examination.

8. Any evidence submitted after the period allowed by the arbitral tribunal or this
Guidelines shall not be considered by the arbitral tribunal, subject to Art. 39, par.
2 (Closure of Hearings).

4. Conduct of virtual hearings

The virtual hearing shall be conducted in the following manner:

1. All online meetings and virtual hearings shall be recorded by the Secretariat. The
recording shall be uploaded to the online case record after each virtual hearing
session.

2. The arbitral tribunal and the parties shall have full video and audio access to the
witness being examined.

3. The arbitral tribunal, the parties, and the witness being examined shall have full
access to any portion of the online case record and share it on screen during the
virtual hearing.
Practice Note No. 1, Guidelines on Online Meetings and Virtual Hearings

4. Prior to being examined, the witness shall be sworn to an oath or affirmation by

the arbitral tribunal or by the file counsel, if there is one.

5. The witness shall be alone in the examination room or, if in the presence of any
party, counsel, other witnesses, or authorized persons, shall be at least two meters
away from the party, counsel, other witnesses, or authorized persons as viewed
remotely by the arbitral tribunal with the use of a second camera.

6. While under examination, the witness may refer to his or her notes or references
but shall not be aided by any person during the testimony. The witness shall
participate in the virtual hearing using an electronic device separate from that
used by the parties or by the arbitral tribunal. During the testimony, the witness
shall not open or use any other electronic device or application apart from the
device and application used to connect to the virtual hearing. Likewise, while
under examination, the witness shall not communicate, or attempt to
communicate, with the arbitral tribunal, the parties, or any other person except to
respond to the examination questions.

7. The arbitral tribunal may exclude or remove from the virtual hearing any witness
or any other person, except a party or its representative.

8. Any witness who has no access to adequate telecommunications facilities or

services may avail of the virtual hearing services of PDRCI. The party offering the
witness shall make an advance deposit of the cost of PDRCI’s virtual hearing
services.

9. During oral arguments, unless the arbitral tribunal requires written submissions
or responses by the parties, oral submissions and responses shall suffice. Written
submissions may be responded to orally or in writing, while oral submissions shall
be responded to only orally. Where appropriate, the tribunal may allow further
oral or written statements such as position papers or memoranda on any issue
raised during the virtual hearing. A party shall have at least one day to make
written submissions or responses, when allowed by the arbitral tribunal.

10. Hearings not requiring the examination of documents or witnesses may be

conducted by audio conference.

11. The arbitral tribunal may request the Secretariat to set a practice run at least
three days before the initial virtual hearing.

12. The arbitral tribunal may adopt any other appropriate procedure in consultation
with the parties.

5. Cancellation of virtual hearings

The parties shall be responsible for their attendance and those of their witnesses during
the virtual hearing. The parties and their witnesses shall also be responsible for the
adequacy and stability of their respective telecommunications connections for the
Practice Note No. 1, Guidelines on Online Meetings and Virtual Hearings

duration of the virtual hearing. However, in case of interruption of the connection for
more than one (1) hour, or similar acts or events beyond the control of the parties or the
tribunal, the arbitral tribunal may suspend or adjourn the virtual hearing.

In case of serious illness or death of the party, witness, or counsel, the arbitral tribunal
may cancel, suspend, or reschedule the virtual hearing, without prejudice to Art. 38, par.
2 (Default) in case of a party’s failure, despite notice, to attend a virtual hearing without
sufficient cause.

6. Cost of virtual hearings

The cost of virtual hearings shall form part of the administrative expenses of the
arbitration.

7. Online meetings

The arbitral tribunal may conduct online meetings in the same manner as virtual
hearings.

Approved by the Board of Trustees, August 3, 2020.