LCIA Arbitration Through the Lens of Georgian Law
The LCIA — the London Court of International Arbitration — is one of the best-known arbitral institutions in international business, and parties to major transactions often choose it in their contracts. The Georgian Law on Arbitration deals with this choice expressly: an agreement of the parties on a specific arbitral institution comprises an agreement on the rules of that same institution. Naming the LCIA in a contract therefore determines not only the institution but also its rules — the clause itself incorporates those rules, and the parties do not need to draft a separate procedural regulation.
The law at the same time provides that parties may agree on the rules of arbitral proceedings, and such an agreement covers the rules the parties indicate in the arbitration agreement. For Georgian counterparties this means that choosing the LCIA works fully within the framework of Georgian law: the hearing proceeds under the chosen institution’s rules, while the general framework of the arbitral relationship — including the seat of the arbitration and the language of the proceedings — is resolved in the manner the law prescribes.
Seat of the Arbitration: Who Determines It and Why It Matters
Under the law, the place of the arbitral proceedings is determined by agreement of the parties. In an LCIA clause you may designate the seat directly — including Georgia — and thereby know in advance which legal environment surrounds the hearing. Where there is no agreement of the parties, the seat is determined by the arbitration, taking into account the circumstances of the case and how convenient that place is for the parties.
It is important to distinguish the legal seat of the arbitration from the physical location of sittings: the arbitration may convene a meeting at any place for consultations among the arbitrators, for hearing witnesses, experts or the parties, or for examining evidence, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The legal “seat” is therefore fixed by the clause, while hearings may be held in different cities according to the parties’ convenience.
Language of the Proceedings: How It Is Chosen and What It Covers
The parties may determine the language or languages of the arbitral proceedings — and in an international transaction this is one of the first decisions worth making deliberately. Absent an agreement, the language of the proceedings is determined by the arbitration, taking due account of all relevant circumstances, including the language of the contract. For a dispute arising from a Georgian-language contract this means that the contract language will necessarily be taken into account when the decision is made.
An agreement of the parties or a decision of the arbitration on language also applies to any written statement of the parties, oral hearings, the final arbitral award, determinations and any other document used in the proceedings. The arbitration may further decide that any documentary evidence must be accompanied by a translation into the language of the proceedings. A party submitting Georgian documents should plan for this in advance — translation time and cost are part of preparing the case.