Originally from the Leading Arbitrators' Guide to International Arbitration - Fourth Edition

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I. INTRODUCTION

The role of the secretary to the arbitral tribunal is not an easy subject.

First, because it does not concern all arbitration proceedings, by far not, the involvement of a secretary is most often limited to arbitrations of a certain scale, a majority of arbitrations being conducted without it. According to the 2012 Queen Mary/White & Case International Arbitration survey, secretaries are used in only 35% of arbitrations.  As per the 2012 Young ICCA Survey, 95% of the persons surveyed, including arbitration practitioners, users and providers, approved the use of arbitral secretaries. 

Second, because the question of the admissibility and scope of the secretary’s tasks remains partially controversial. This topic remains more or less taboo and inspires a certain skepticism linked to various emotions that arbitrators can inspire. For this reason, the author is aware of the risk arising from attempting to describe a situation which is not clearly defined.