Evidence and Proof in International Commercial Arbitration

This research is devoted to identifying distinctive features of evidence in international commercial arbitration (ICA), as well as determining the content of the sources of influence that form these features. Special attention is paid to the influence of the Anglo-Saxon and continental legal systems, as well as their interpretation of evidentiary institutions. The work consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, and bibliography. The first chapter examines the theoretical foundations and content of evidence in the ICA. In the second chapter, Anglo-Saxon and continental traditions of evidence are critically analyzed, as well as their origin, content, influence in the ICA and modern results of unification, such as the rules of the IBA and the Prague Rules. The third chapter discusses the legal standards of evidence and types of evidence in the ICA. In the course of the study, the author establishes (1) the content of evidence in ICA, (2) the sources of legal regulation in ICA, (3) analyzes the provisions of arbitration regulations of the leading arbitration centers and establishes their significance for evidence in ICA, (4) formulates the characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon and continental legal systems and their reflection in the national rules of evidence, as well as in ICA, (5) establishes the problems of projecting national approaches to proving in ICA, (6) analyzes the rules of the IBA as an act of "soft law", (7) establishes distinctive features of the Prague Rules, the objectives of their adoption and their advantages, (8) formulates the benefits of various guidelines and "soft law" rules, (9) defines the standard of proof in ICA (i.e. balance of probabilities), (10) examines the institution of document disclosure and its methodology, (11) defines the role witnesses and experts in ICA.