Working party established to progress cyber security guidelines in international arbitration

Cyber security is becoming highly relevant in the context of arbitration proceedings, a key component of which is their confidentiality. Parties, arbitrators, counsel and institutions are all vulnerable to cyber-attacks, the consequences of which would undoubtedly be very serious.The potential impact of a cyber security breach on arbitration proceedings has catalysed the creation of a new working group in November 2017 that will consider the impact of cyber security breaches on international arbitration and current practice and duties. The working group consists of members from the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the New York City Bar Association and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.

The working group will aim to create cyber security guidelines for counsel, arbitrators and institutions as well as protocols that are optional and can be adopted by parties in arbitration. The guidelines and protocols will then be consulted on at the 2018 ICCA Congress which will be held in Sydney.

For more information please see the ICCA press release here.