ABSTRACT
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration , pp. 20-243 (2004). 4. Reed and Sutcliffe note that depositions are rarely used in international arbitration and identify the
practice as one of the “worst” attributes of US procedural practice, the use of which should be avoided in arbitration. Lucy Reed and Jonathan Sutcliffe, “The Americanization of International Arbitration?”, 16-4 Mealey’s Intl Arb Rep 11 (2001). See also: in relation to domestic arbitration proceedings, where it has been recognised that normal pre-trial discovery, available in domestic courts, is not consistent with arbitral proceedings. “The fundamental differences between the fact-fi nding process of a judicial tribunal and those of a panel of arbitrators demonstrate the need of pre-trial discovery in the one and its superfl uity and utter incompatibility in the other.” Commercial Solvents Corp v Louisiana Liquid Fertilizer Co , 20 FRD 359, 362 (SDNY 1957). See also: the same view specifi cally with regard to the AAA rules of procedure, “Neither the federal statutes nor the rules of AAA give a party an absolute right to demand discovery. As a general rule, discovery is very limited in arbitration proceedings. Once a district court has stayed judicial proceedings pending arbitration, the parties may not continue discovery in the district court.” United Nuclear Corp v General Atomic Co , 93 NM 105, 117 (Sup. Ct of New Mexico 1979).
