Article 1

4. Article 1 provides that express consent of the parties is required for the application of the Expedited Rules.
5. Parties are free to agree on the application of the Expedited Rules at any time even after the dispute has arisen (see model arbitration clause in the annex to the Expedited Rules). For example, parties that had concluded an arbitration agreement or had initiated arbitration under the UARs before the effective date of the Expedited Rules (19 September 2021) can subsequently agree to refer their dispute to arbitration under the Expedited Rules. Likewise, a party may propose to the other party or parties that the Expedited Rules shall apply to the arbitration.
6. However, parties should be mindful of the consequences when changing from non-expedited to expedited arbitration. For example, a notice of arbitration communicated in accordance with article 3 of the UARs might not meet the requirements in article 4 of the Expedited Rules, whereby the claimant has to communicate proposals for the designation of an appointing authority and for the appointment of a sole arbitrator. Therefore, it would be prudent for the parties to agree on how such requirements could be met, should they agree to refer their dispute to arbitration under the Expedited Rules after the proceedings had begun. Similarly, if a three-member arbitral tribunal was constituted in accordance with the UARs, the parties may wish to consider appointing a sole arbitrator in accordance with article 8. If the constitution of the arbitral tribunal is changed, the parties may also need consider the status of statements and evidence submitted to the former tribunal.
7. Article 1 provides that the UARs generally apply to expedited arbitration, unless and as modified by the Expedited Rules. The phrase “as modified by these Expedited Rules” means that rules in the UARs and the Expedited Rules need to be read in conjunction for the proper conduct of the proceedings. The rules in the UARs are either supplemented or replaced by those in the Expedited Rules. For the avoidance of doubt, the footnote to article 1 provides a list of articles in the UARs that would not apply in the context of expedited arbitration. However, parties retain the flexibility to tailor the rules to their proceedings.
8. As the Expedited Rules are presented as an appendix to the UARs, reference to “the Rules” or “these Rules” in the UARs (see articles 1(2), 1(3), 1(4), 2(6), 4(2), 6(3), 6(4), 6(5), 10(3), 17(1), 17(2), 30(1), 30(2), 32 and 41(4)(b) of the UARs) include the Expedited Rules in the context of expedited arbitration.
9. In relation to article 1(2) of the UARs, parties to an arbitration agreement concluded before the entry into force of the Expedited Rules will not be presumed to have referred their dispute to the Expedited Rules, even though the Expedited Rules are presented as an appendix to the UARs. This is because the Expedited Rules only apply when so expressly agreed by the parties. On the other hand, if a subsequent version of the Expedited Rules were to be prepared, article 1(2) of the UARs would apply, which means that the Expedited Rules in effect on the date of commencement of the expedited arbitration would apply, unless the parties have agreed on the current or any other version of the Expedited Rules.

Article 2

10. Even when the parties had initially agreed to refer their dispute to arbitration under the Expedited Rules, the circumstances may be such that the Expedited Rules are not appropriate to resolve the particular dispute. Article 2 addresses such circumstances, with paragraph 1 allowing parties to agree to withdraw from expedited arbitration.
11. In accordance with paragraph 2, a party that had agreed to refer the dispute to arbitration under the Expedited Rules may subsequently request withdrawal from expedited arbitration, when the circumstances evolved in a manner that would make expedited arbitration no longer suitable for resolving the dispute (see also para. 91 below). While there is no time limit within which a party can request withdrawal, the arbitral tribunal should consider at which stage of the proceedings the request is being made.
12. The phrase “in exceptional circumstances” means that the party requesting withdrawal should provide convincing and justified reasons for the request and that the arbitral tribunal should uphold the request only in certain circumstances. It introduces a high threshold for allowing a unilateral withdrawal from expedited arbitration.
13. When making the determination, the arbitral tribunal should consider whether the Expedited Rules are no longer appropriate for the resolution of the dispute. It may wish to take into account, among others, the following:

14. The above is a non-exhaustive list of elements that can be taken into account and it would not be necessary for the arbitral tribunal to consider all the elements therein.
15. When making the determination, the arbitral tribunal, in accordance with article 17(1) of the UARs, may decide that the Expedited Rules in their entirety would no longer apply or that certain articles would no longer apply to the arbitration. When deciding that certain articles of the Expedited Rules would no longer apply, the arbitral tribunal should make clear to the parties how the arbitration would be conducted and on the basis of which articles.
16. If the arbitral tribunal is not yet constituted, the determination would need to be made after it is constituted. However, if the parties are not able to reach an agreement on the arbitrator or if there is a disagreement between the parties on (i) whether the Expedited Rules apply or (ii) whether the criteria in the arbitration agreement triggering the application of the Expedited Rules are met, the appointing authority may be involved in constituting the arbitral tribunal in accordance with article 10(3) of the UARs. The appointing authority will make a prima facie decision on whether the arbitration would be conducted under the Expedited Rules. However, the ultimate determination on the application of the Expedited Rules would be left to the arbitral tribunal.
17. When the Expedited Rules no longer apply to the arbitration pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2, the arbitral tribunal shall conduct the arbitration in accordance with the UARs. However, this does not mean that the arbitral tribunal, if already constituted, would have to be re-constituted in accordance with the UARs. Instead, the arbitral tribunal shall remain in place in accordance with paragraph 3. There may, however, be instances where the parties agree to replace an arbitrator or reconstitute the arbitral tribunal. There may also be instances where the arbitrator resigns, for example, if the arbitrator appointed under the Expedited Rules believes that his or her schedule of future commitments does not allow for the conduct of non-expedited arbitration.
18. Unless the arbitral tribunal decides otherwise, the non-expedited proceeding should resume at the stage where the expedited proceeding was when the parties agreed to withdraw or the arbitral tribunal made the determination. Decisions made during the expedited proceeding should remain applicable to the non-expedited proceedings, unless the arbitral tribunal decides to depart from its earlier decisions or from a decision made by the previous tribunal.