Do the arbitrators permit or expect the students to present their arguments without interruption or do they ask questions during the argument?
Arbitrators who come from different legal systems tend to have different expectations. Those who come from a civil law background tend to ask fewer questions and to ask those questions at the end of a presentation by the advocate. Those who come from a common law background tend to ask questions from the beginning and sometimes do not allow the advocate to make a systematic argument at all. Whenever possible the panels of three arbitrators for each argument are composed of lawyers/law professors from both backgrounds. As a consequence, advocates must be prepared both to present a coherent reasoned argument without interruption and to have the entire period occupied by questions – or something in between.
