Explainer, UAE, International, Arbitration
Emergency arbitrators and interim relief
Some relief cannot wait for a tribunal to be formed, so the rules provide an emergency arbitrator, interim measures once the tribunal sits, and a parallel route to the courts.
Published Last reviewed 3 min readBy SpyroLex
Urgent relief in arbitration runs on three tracks the rules set. Before a tribunal exists, an emergency arbitrator can order interim relief, a mechanism with its own fast clock and fixed fee. Once constituted, the tribunal orders interim measures. A party can also ask a national court, without giving up arbitration. Administering urgent relief is running each track by rule.
Some relief cannot wait for a tribunal
A case takes months, and some harm cannot wait that long: assets are moved beyond reach, evidence is destroyed, or confidential information is about to be leaked. Arbitration rules answer this with urgent relief that runs on its own track, before and alongside the main case. The ICDR Procedures and the SIAC Rules both carry it, so a party is not left to watch the position change while the tribunal is still being formed.23
The emergency arbitrator, before the tribunal exists
Before a tribunal is in place, the rules let a party apply for an emergency arbitrator: a single neutral the institution appoints quickly to decide an urgent application. DIAC prices this as a distinct step, a USD 35,000 fee for the emergency arbitrator plus a USD 15,000 administrative fee, and the ICDR Procedures and the SIAC Rules carry the same mechanism in their emergency provisions. The emergency arbitrator fills one gap only, the time before the tribunal is constituted.123
Once the tribunal sits, it holds the power
Once the tribunal is constituted, the power to grant interim relief moves to it. Under the UNCITRAL Model Law article 17 the tribunal may, at a party’s request, order interim measures: to preserve assets or evidence, or to hold the position until the award. After the tribunal exists the emergency arbitrator has no further role, and interim relief is the tribunal’s to give.4
The court route runs in parallel
A party does not have to choose between arbitration and the courts for urgent protection. Under the Model Law article 9 it is not incompatible with an arbitration agreement to ask a court for an interim measure before or during the arbitration, so a freezing order or a similar measure can come from a national court without waiving the agreement to arbitrate. The two routes sit side by side, and the rules say which is open when.4
| Route | When it is open | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency arbitrator | Before the tribunal is constituted | A single neutral the institution appoints (DIAC USD 35,000 plus USD 15,000 admin) |
| The tribunal | Once constituted | Interim measures at a party’s request (Model Law article 17) |
| A national court | Before or during the arbitration | Compatible with the arbitration agreement (Model Law article 9) |
Urgent relief is not an exception to the rulebook. It is three tracks the rules set, each with its own trigger, its own decider and, for the emergency arbitrator, its own fee.
Why urgent relief is administration
Each track is a mechanism the institution runs: appointing the emergency arbitrator against a fast clock, charging the fee for it, and recording what was asked and what was ordered so the main case picks up cleanly. It is the same discipline as administering a case on your own rulebook and running the steps in order, applied to the part of a case that cannot wait.1