The Prague rules are not as bad as they seem.

Abstract

With increasing frequency, it is pointed out that international arbitration has become a costly, long and inefficient dispute resolution system. As an attempt to solve this problem, in 2018 the so-called Prague Rules were launched, an instrument of soft law to conduct arbitration under the tradition of inquisitive civil procedure. Thus, the authors analyze the Prague Rules and compare them with the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence. The authors review the rules on the display of documents, hearings, witnesses, experts e inferences. They suggest that, although the premises on which the Prague Rules are based are not entirely correct, they can be useful for judicial litigants with lesser experience in international arbitration. They consider that exogenous variables, such as the skills of the arbitrators and the legal culture of the lawyers, will affect their success or failure.