Subject to the provisions of Article 9.2, the Arbitral Tribunal may, at the request of a Party or on its own motion, inspect or require the inspection by a Tribunal-Appointed Expert or a Party-Appointed Expert of any site, property, machinery or any other goods, samples, systems, processes or Documents, as it deems appropriate.

The Arbitral Tribunal shall, in consultation with the Parties, determine the timing and arrangement for the inspection. The Parties and their representatives shall have the right to attend any such inspection.

IBA COMMITTEE COMMENTARY

Article 7 is a simple provision, making possible inspections of relevant site, property, machinery or any other goods, samples, systems, processes or documents that may help the decision-making process, wherever they may be located. Such inspections most frequently occur in construction arbitrations, in which the arbitral tribunal visits the construction site in dispute.

DISCUSSION

The Article 9.2 proviso operates to exclude matters from evidence (i.e. in this context refuse to inspect or require an expert to inspect) on the grounds of relevance, legal impediment or privilege, unreasonable burden, loss or destruction (of what would otherwise have been inspected), compelling confidentiality, compelling and special political or institutional sensitivity, and compelling considerations of procedural economy, proportionality, fairness or equality.