In a decision of 24 April 2023, the Belgian supreme civil court (“cour de cassation”) dismissed the petition against a judgment of the Brussels court of first instance (“tribunal de première instance”; hereafter the “lower court”) that addressed the question to what extent arbitrators can delegate tasks to arbitral secretaries. The supreme court decision analyzed…

A recent, still unpublished, judgment of the French-speaking section of the Brussels Court of First Instance (Belgium) (the “Brussels court” or the “court”) provides an excellent opportunity to take stock of recent developments on the much-debated topic of delegation of tasks to arbitral secretaries. Russia famously put the arbitral secretary in the spotlight in the…