Part VII Witnesses and Perjury, 18 Cross-Examination of Fact Witness Statements in International Arbitration

Abstract

This chapter discusses cross-examination of witness statements in international arbitration. The direct testimonies of witnesses in international arbitration are increasingly being presented in the form of their written statements-called ‘witness statements’. Some witness statements can be fairly innocuous, perhaps referring to or commenting on documents in the record. Others, however, not only touch on certain subject-matter areas, leaving out areas that are harmful to a party’s case, but they may also distort accounts of certain meetings or other events, or even lie about them. Such statements, if left alone and taken seriously by the tribunal, have a deleterious effect on the case of the opposing party, and must therefore be dealt with by assessing the ways in which a harmful statement by a fact witness may be responded to.