ALBANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Maksim Haxhia, Artan Hajdari and Eris Hysi, Haxhia & Hajdari Attorneys at Law
dural issue, the tribunal may use the Civil Procedure Code by analogy or refer to the procedural rules of a permanent arbitral institution. This preserves proce - dural flexibility while providing domestic procedural law as a gap-filling source rather than as a complete
or enforcement. In those circumstances, information should be used to the extent required by the relevant judicial procedure and any applicable rules on access to court material. The absence of a blanket statutory provision means confidentiality should be addressed expressly at an early stage of the arbitration, particu - larly for commercially sensitive disputes.
mandatory evidentiary code. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion
The tribunal may order the parties to produce docu - ments or other evidence by a specified deadline. This power is directed at participants in the arbitration and is enforced through the procedural consequences available to the tribunal, including continuing the case and deciding on the evidence before it where a party fails without justification to produce material. For evidence or legal acts that the tribunal cannot itself compel because it lacks public authority, Law No 52/2023 provides for court assistance. The tribunal, or a party with the tribunal’s approval, may request the competent first-instance court to take evidence or perform another lawful act that is outside the tribu - nal’s coercive power. The court acts under the Civil Procedure Code. Arbitrators may attend the court’s evidence-taking and may put questions. The dis - tinction is therefore important: the tribunal manages evidence from the parties, while coercive measures involving non-parties or compulsory state authority require judicial assistance. Law No 52/2023 contains important confidentiality- related safeguards but does not establish an all- encompassing statutory duty of confidentiality cov - ering every pleading, document and communication in every arbitration. Hearings are closed unless the parties agree otherwise, and an arbitral award may be made public only with the parties’ consent. Parties seeking broader confidentiality should regulate it in the arbitration clause, a procedural agreement or through the rules of the chosen arbitral institution. Disclosure may nevertheless be necessary in related court proceedings, including applications for interim measures, court assistance, setting-aside, recognition 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
An arbitral award must be in writing. Under Article 39 of Law No 52/2023, it must include, among other matters: • the composition of the tribunal; • the seat; • the parties and their representatives; • information concerning the arbitration agreement
and the parties’ final claims; • a brief statement of reasons; • the operative part; • the date; • the required signatures; and
• specified information concerning the tribunal’s sec - retariat and the place where an original is depos - ited. The award is signed personally by the arbitrator or arbitrators. In a panel, signatures of the majority are sufficient if the reason for an omitted signature is stat - ed. The award is final and binding from the date it is announced and must be notified in accordance with the applicable procedure. The Arbitration Law does not prescribe a general statutory deadline for deliv - ery of the final award. Separate post-award deadlines apply to correction, interpretation and supplementa - tion requests. 10.2 Types of Remedies Law No 52/2023 does not provide a closed statutory list of final remedies available to an arbitral tribunal. The tribunal’s remedial authority is defined principally by the arbitration agreement, the claims submitted, the applicable substantive law and the requirement that the subject matter be arbitrable.
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