The valid commencement of arbitral proceedings has significant legal consequences, not least of which is the prevention of a claim from becoming time-barred. Indeed, it would be any counsel’s worst nightmare to find out that arbitral proceedings were not validly initiated by a request for arbitration failing to fulfil the prescribed requirements. However, these requirements are not always clearly stipulated in arbitration rules or national arbitration laws. These instruments provide surprisingly little guidance even on such a basic issue as whether a request for arbitration needs to be signed. Based on a recent case, this article discusses whether arbitral proceedings can validly be commenced by an unsigned request for arbitration. Drawing conclusions from national laws and practice, the authors establish that, in principle, for there to be valid commencement of arbitral proceedings, a request for arbitration has to be signed.
Journal of International Arbitration