Conference on Party-appointed Expert in International Arbitration co-hosted by Taiwan Chapter

Ciarb’s Taiwan Chapter was very honored to co-host with the ICC YAAF and the Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei (CAA) on 4 October 2022, a hybrid conference on “Party-appointed Expert in International Arbitration” (co-sponsored by the Mediation and ADR Commission of Taiwan Bar Association and Chen & Chang, Attorneys-at-Law) as a part of the 2022 Taiwan Arbitration Week series of events.

As an opening remark, Dr. Helena Chen FCIArb, Govenor of the Ciarb Taiwan Chapter, shared her thoughts on organizing an event on this interesting topic as the use of party-appointed experts is common in international arbitration but is relatively new in Taiwan. It was only introduced into the Taiwan legal regime in July 2021, when the Taiwan Commercial Case Adjudication Act became effective.

The first session was conducted in mandarin Chinese. Professor Kuan-Ling Shen, Distinguished Professor of the College of Law of National Taiwan University, elaborated on provisions regarding a party-appointed expert witness under the Taiwan Commercial Case Adjudication Act and compared the practice thereunder with the common practice of party-appointed experts in international arbitration. She also shared her personal experiences of acting as a party-appointed expert in a Hong Kong court proceeding regarding recognition and enforcement of a Taiwan arbitral award.

The second session was conducted in English and moderated by the North Asia Representative of the ICC YAAF, Ms. Alison Chang FCIArb. Mr. David Holloway, an experienced barrister and arbitrator practicing in the Outer Temple Chambers, shared his views from a counsel’s perspective. Mr. Holloway raised a question as to whether expert opinion on the interpretation and application of foreign laws is of assistance to the tribunal, and further gave his advice and insights on working with experts in arbitration as a counsel. Mr. Chris Clark, Senior Managing Director of Ankura, gave directions for expert procedures on delay issues in construction cases and elaborated on the development of hot-tubbing from an expert’s perspective. Finally, Mr. Glenn Haley C.Arb FCIArb, Regional-non-PRC Chair of Ciarb East Asia Branch, expressed his views on expert witnesses from a tribunal’s perspective in response to the opinions from the co-panelists and shared his insights on the value of expert evidence on foreign laws and the effectiveness of the joint expert process and hot-tubbing. The conference was well-attended and received much positive feedback from the audience.

From left to right: Dr. Helena Chen, Convenor of Taiwan Chapter, FCIArb, Prof. Kuan-Ling Shen, Prof Ful-Dien Li, Alison Chang FCIArb

From top left to bottom right: Glenn Haley, C.Arb., Chris Clark, Alison Chang, FCIArb and Dr Helena Chen Convenor of Taiwan Chapter, FCIArb, David Hollway