Originally from The Law and Practice of International Arbitration: Essays in Honor of John Fellas – Preview Page

1. INTRODUCTION  

In 2006, WikiLeaks released more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic wires from 274 embassies across the globe, publishing them on the WikiLeaks website—a self-described “multi-national media organization and associated library.”3 Some ten years later, in 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the Panama Papers, a detailed investigation “exposing financial chicanery and political corruption.”4 A significant portion of these documents ended up being used both in litigation and international arbitration.  

These two examples illustrate how technological progress is transforming the traditional model of legal practice, making illegally obtained evidence an “emerging consideration” in international arbitration. While attempts to rely on such evidence are far from being new phenomena, our fast-paced digital era—sometimes beyond our reach or understanding—will offer more opportunities for security breaches, hacking, and cyber intrusions. Ultimately, arbitration will have to adapt to these new realities.5