About this service
The strength of arbitration — the parties' control over the process — becomes real when a party knows that it determines the rules itself and that the regime of time limits and notices is part of its position. Articles 24, 26, 27, 29 and 31 of the Law on Arbitration assemble exactly this operational framework: who sets the procedure, when the proceedings commence, when a notice is deemed received, in what language the process runs, and when the right to object is lost. Our service helps parties apply this framework correctly.
Determining the procedure and commencement of proceedings
Article 24 begins at the foundation: the procedure of the arbitral examination is determined by the parties, in compliance with the law's requirements; where no agreement exists between the parties, the dispute is examined under the procedure determined by the arbitration, again in compliance with the law. This means the procedural design lies in the parties' hands, and the law sets only inviolable boundaries. Article 26 then defines the starting point: the examination of an arbitral dispute commences on the day the respondent receives the notice of the referral of the dispute to arbitration, unless the parties' agreement provides otherwise — this moment is subsequently used for computing every time limit.
Notices: when a notice is deemed received
Article 27 builds the notice regime: unless the parties' agreement provides otherwise, a written notice is deemed received if it was delivered to the addressee personally or at their legal address, place of residence or last place of work. Where determining such a place is impossible, the notice is deemed delivered if it was sent to the addressee's last known legal address, residence or workplace by registered letter or by another means that confirms the attempt to deliver and hand over the notice. The practical conclusion is clear: a party's contact details must be kept up to date and correspondence recorded — otherwise the notice will be deemed received regardless of whether it was actually read. In international exchanges this rule works doubly: addresses change often, and every dispatch must be confirmable.