Preliminary meeting/procedural conference

The preliminary meeting (or procedural conference) gives the parties the opportunity to agree on outstanding issues of procedure and timing. It may also be used by them to seek to narrow the substantive issues in the dispute.

From the standpoint of the tribunal, it allows the arbitrator to hear what the dispute is about and to take steps to manage effectively the progress of the arbitration hereon in. Typically, a preliminary meeting will, in the case of an arbitral tribunal of three arbitrators, be conducted by the presiding arbitrator alone. For the arbitrator, it provides an opportunity to establish credibility with the parties and to take the first steps to ensure (in accordance with article 18 of the Model Law) that each party has a full and proper opportunity to present its case and to deal with the case put forward by the other party.