159 ARBITRATION LAW IBA Rules on Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration 2020* Melissa Balıkçı Sezen Introduction On 15 February 2021, the International Bar Association (“IBA”) released a revised version of the Rules on Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (“IBARules 2020” or “Rules”). The IBARules on Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration are a set of rules adopted in commercial and investment arbitrations. These rules deal with the taking of evidence and aim to provide a balance between parties with different legal backgrounds. As stated in the Preamble of the Rules, these Rules are intended to provide an efficient, economical and fair process for the taking of evidence in international arbitrations and are designed to supplement the legal provisions and the institutional, ad hoc or other rules that apply to the conduct of the arbitration. The first set of rules were published by the IBA in 1999, which were revised in 2010. In 2019, a task force was established to study whether any revisions were required1, and on 17 December 2020, the IBA Rules 2020 were adopted by a resolution of the IBA Council. General Information The IBA Rules apply where parties and arbitral tribunals adopt them, in whole or in part, to govern arbitration proceedings. The parties are free to vary the Rules or use them as guidelines. According to article 1.2 of the IBA Rules, where parties have agreed to apply the IBA Rules of Evidence, in whole or in part, they shall be deemed to have agreed, in the absence of a contrary indication, to the version as current on the date of such agreement. In line with this, the IBA Rules 2020 will apply to arbitration agreements concluded after 17 * Article of March, 2021 1 https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=137D2AB8-DB0942AE-A19B-FC31AED914AE.
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