Q&A with LCIA Registrar, Eliana Tornese

Introduction

We spoke with Eliana Tornese, newly appointed Registrar of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), about her role. 

Please tell us about the key elements of your role

As Registrar of the LCIA, I am head of the Secretariat and am responsible for the day-to-day administration of over 1,000 matters currently registered with the LCIA, allocated between all the members of the Secretariat, which is composed of counsel and casework administrators. The majority of these cases (more than 80%) are arbitrations under the LCIA Arbitration Rules, with the remaining caseload being divided between UNCITRAL arbitrations administered by the LCIA, mediations under the LCIA Mediation Rules, arbitrations where the LCIA is the appointing authority only and cases where the LCIA is acting as a fund-holder only.

Acting as Registrar is both a dynamic and exciting role. It involves, on the one hand, interfacing directly with users and arbitrators to help them navigate through the different stages of LCIA arbitral proceedings, and, on the other hand, supervising the Secretariat’s members in order to ensure the LCIA standards are applied consistently across all cases.

What does your day look like?

No two days are identical. However, like for anyone else, especially in this time of remote working, the first item on my daily to-do-list is to review the inbox. The 2020 Rules provide for electronic communication with the LCIA in the arbitration. Accordingly, and in order to promote environmentally friendly best practice, the LCIA encourages users and arbitrators to send soft copies only of correspondence, submissions and other documents during the course of the arbitration.

As Registrar, I review all the new Requests for Arbitration. On busy days, we can receive over 20 new Requests for Arbitration, and usually fewer, on a regular day. My review involves checking that the Request complies with the requirements of Article 1 of the Rules in order to approve registration. Occasionally, I liaise with the President or a Vice President of the LCIA Court before registering new Requests for Arbitration to obtain the Court’s input. For example, since the entering into force of the 2020 Rules, the LCIA has received a number of composite Requests for Arbitration pursuant to Article 1.2 of the Rules. Following consultation with the LCIA Court, we have clarified with claimants filing composite Requests for Arbitration that each arbitration requires a separate registration fee.

In the event the inbox only includes regular correspondence and once this has been addressed, the second item of my daily to do list is to have regular meetings with counsel and casework administrators, either in a team meeting or individually. Team meetings are an opportunity for counsel and casework administrators to share developments on their cases. The 2020 Rules introduced an explicit reference to the possibility of early determination; broadened the power of the LCIA Court and the Tribunal to order consolidation and concurrent conduct of arbitrations and included an explicit consideration of data protection. Each member of the Secretariat reports on these issues and other matters arising to the broader team in order that everyone is aware of the extent of application and interpretation of the LCIA Rules on these aspects and is able to guide users and arbitrators when similar issues arise on ongoing cases.

In the daily individual meetings, counsel and casework administrators identify and raise with me any potentially problematic issues that arise on cases (including, for example, proposed procedure that is not in accordance with the Rules and challenges to arbitrators). However, more generally, in these meetings, I review with each counsel and casework administrator key draft correspondence and documents. This includes, for example, the first letter to parties which is sent after a Request for Arbitration is received, requests for advance payment for the costs of the arbitration, disclosures submitted by arbitrators prior and post appointment, the form of appointment officially appointing a tribunal and the notice of appointment informing the parties of such appointment, as well as awards. This allows me to supervise and monitor cases at key stages of the proceedings.

What role do you play in the arbitrator appointment process?

It should come as no surprise that one of the regular daily tasks of the Secretariat is to assist the LCIA Court with the appointment of the Tribunal, where we consider issues such as disclosures in parallel cases, repeat appointments and advance waivers.

As part of the appointment process where parties have agreed that the LCIA Court select arbitrators, I review shortlists of candidates prepared by Counsel, before they are submitted to the LCIA Court. Counsel’s search starts with the LCIA’s internal database and then other available resources, in order to identify lists of potential arbitrators suitable for the case, taking into account all relevant aspects. In practice, in recent years, more than 60% of all arbitrators appointed by the LCIA are selected by the parties or nominees, leaving 40% of arbitrators being selected by the LCIA Court. Reviewing and fine-tuning the lists of candidate arbitrators before they are sent to the President or Vice Presidents of the LCIA Court remains one of my favourite parts of the day. In particular, the LCIA strives to maintain diversity in experience, cultural/legal background, age and gender, which includes considering candidates who have not previously been appointed in LCIA proceedings.