192 / 522
Submission by the Third Parties and a Non Disputing Party to
the Treaty
Pursuant to Article 4 of the Rules third persons are allowed to sub-
mit written submission related to the dispute, such persons shall apply
to the arbitral tribunal. In considering whether to accept such submis-
sions the arbitral tribunal shall consider the interest of the third party
and the effect of that the submission upon the dispute.
Non- disputing parties to the treaty were excluded from the defin-
ition of the third party and regulated under Article 5 of the Rules. A
non-disputing party to the treaty can submit a submission regarding
issues on treaty interpretation. Such submission shall be allowed by the
arbitral tribunal or may be invited after consulting with the disputing
party by the arbitral tribunal.
Article 3 further provides that the submissions given by third per-
sons or non-disputing Party (Parties) shall also be made publicly acces-
sible. The Rules do not distinguish persons in the public, public in
equal level is allowed to access information
7
.
Hearings
Pursuant to Article 6 of the Rules hearings held for the presenta-
tion of evidence or for oral arguments shall be public. Arbitral tribunal
has the power to hold private hearings in case confidential information
or the integrity of the arbitral proceedings needs to be protected. In
order for the public to access to the hearings the arbitral tribunal shall
make necessary logistical arrangements
8
.
Exceptions to Transparency
The Rules provide certain exceptions in terms of confidential and
protected information. Article 7 (2) regards “confidential business
information, information that is protected against being made available
to the public under the treaty, information that is protected against
being made available to the public, in the case of the information of the
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NEWSLETTER 2015
7
See A/68/17 para. 71-74
8
See Article 6(3) of the Rules.