NEW! AAA 2022 COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION RULES AND MEDIATION PROCEDURES

The amended AAA Commercial Rules and Mediation Procedures, effective September 1, 2022, represents a two-year endeavor by an internal AAA working group, with contributions from the AAA’s case-management and administrative groups, party surveys, arbitrators, and the Law and Practice and LCC Committees of the AAA-ICDR^® Council.

The amended rules standardize important longstanding AAA practices—confidentiality, consideration of consolidation/joinder motions, and civility—as well as revise rules to further promote efficiency, reflect advances in technology, and include where appropriate discussions regarding cybersecurity.

These amendments uphold the AAA’s role as standard-bearer for the innovation and refinement of court-tested arbitration rules.

Summary of Significant Arbitration Rule Amendments

New Rules

• Consolidation: AAA’s first-ever commercial rule for the consolidation of existing arbitrations or the joinder of additional parties
• Confidentiality: Captures the long-standing requirements of the Code of Ethics for Arbitrators by including a commitment to the confidentiality of arbitration in the Rules
• Conduct of parties and their representatives: Specifically incorporates into the Rules the AAA’s expectations of civility and professionalism of all participants in arbitrations
• Providing arbitrators with the authority to interpret awards: Draws upon the recently adopted ICDR article that allows the arbitrator to explain the award on a party’s motion
• The importance of cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection: Reflects the weight that the AAA places on cybersecurity and recommends that data protection be discussed in the preliminary hearing

Additional significant amendments to the arbitration rules include:

• Expanding arbitral authority to determine the method of proceedings
  (Building on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, certain Rules now give the arbitrator the express authority to compel the use of video or electronic means for some or all of the hearing.)
• Adjusting the dollar thresholds for application of the Expedited Procedures and Large, Complex Commercial Disputes Procedures
• Strengthening limitations on motion practice and discovery in the Expedited Procedures
• Updating the rule on stenographic records to include a broader definition of transcription
• Increasing the dollar threshold for a three-arbitrator panel

For a detailed explanation of the amendments to the AAA^® Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, click here.

To view the AAA^® Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, amended and effective September 1, 2022, click here.