URUGUAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Leonardo Melos, Bergstein Abogados
behalf of the breaching party – enforce the arbitration agreement, appoint the arbitrator, set the procedure, and indicate the matters that must be subject to deci - sion by the arbitral tribunal. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators Arbitrators’ powers over the arbitration procedure are equal to the ones held by a local judge, but without the imperium (ie, coercion powers). Arbitrators are entitled to collect their fees and they have a duty to exercise their analysis with independence and impar - tiality. Arbitrators’ main duties are to issue their deci - sion within the agreed term but limited to the matters subject to arbitration. 7.4 Legal Representatives There are no particular qualifications or other require - ments necessary for legal representatives to appear in an international arbitration. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence The arbitral tribunal, or any of the parties with the prior authorisation of the arbitral tribunal, may request the assistance of a competent local court in the gathering of evidence or enforcing a request for evidence. The court may grant the request in accordance with the applicable rules of evidence. 8.2 Rules of Evidence Given that the parties are free to establish the proce - dure, this choice also includes rules concerning evi - dence and its assessment. The same applies to the domestic procedure. As explained in 7.1 Governing Rules , if parties fail to set the rules of procedure, the arbitral tribunal in an international arbitration would establish rules that are appropriate to the dispute. In domestic arbitrations, if the parties fail to set the rules of procedure, the CPC will apply. However, the set of procedural rules established by the parties or by the international tribunal must respect the due process of law. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion The arbitral tribunal has no compulsion powers regard - ing the production of evidence. The power to compel
the production of evidence is exercised through the assistance of the local courts within the limits of the local regulations. This means that, if a document is requested by the arbitral tribunal but – according to local rules – such document would be deemed to be secret or confidential, it is likely that the local court would refuse to order the production of the document. On the other hand, in the event that a party refuses to co-operate with the production of evidence, the arbi - tral tribunal may issue the award on the basis of the evidence already produced (taking into consideration such absence of co-operation).
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
The AICA does not regulate confidentiality, so the par - ties are the ones that should establish the confiden - tiality rules applicable to the international arbitration (including disclosure in subsequent proceedings).
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
The award must be made in writing and in the lan - guage agreed by the parties. In order to be valid, the award should be signed by the majority of the mem - bers of the arbitral tribunal, provided that the reasons for the lack of one or more signatures are set out in the award. The date and place of issuance should be clearly stated. The award should be grounded in the applicable law and contracts selected by the parties. Parties are free to determine the term in which the arbitral award should be rendered. In the case of local arbitrations, if the parties do not determine the term for the issuance of the award, the term to produce the award will be 90 days counted from the date of the first procedural act of the arbitral tribunal. 10.2 Types of Remedies The limits on the types of remedies an arbitral tribu - nal may impose are determined by the applicable law selected by the parties and the terms and conditions
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