Presentation of the TAO

The first period (2011-2015) set up the institution: rules, first list of sixty arbitrators, eighty cases. The second (2016-2020) diversified the offer with mediation, the expedited procedure and publication of anonymised awards. The third, since 2021, is that of digitisation: online filing, remote hearings, tracking on the Desk.

At each stage, developments were discussed with practitioners — lawyers, dealers, curators — and approved by the tribunal's council.

The TAO has set itself five commitments: independence, competence, speed, confidentiality and accessibility. Each translates into concrete rules: arbitrators' declaration of independence, continuing training, binding procedural timetables, secrecy of debates, sliding scale and financial assistance.

A quality committee, made up of outside practitioners, evaluates completed proceedings each year and publishes its recommendations. The parties also answer a satisfaction questionnaire at the end of the case.

The Registry receives requests, checks their admissibility within five days, notifies documents, organises hearings and keeps the files. It is the parties' sole contact during the procedure and ensures that arbitrators and counsel keep to time limits.

It also manages the hearing calendar in Paris, Geneva, Singapore and Dubai, the security of digital exchanges and the archiving of awards for thirty years.

Proceedings are conducted in French, English or Spanish, with interpretation if needed. The legal seat of the arbitration is Paris by default, but the parties may choose another. Hearings may be held on site or remotely.

Videoconferencing is secure and recorded only with the parties' agreement. Documents are exchanged on an encrypted platform with access limited to authorised persons.

Each year the tribunal publishes a report accounting for its activity: number of cases, durations, mediation results, evolution of disputes, quality assessment. This report is presented to the council and circulated free of charge.

Detailed statistics are available in the dedicated section. They allow the parties to gauge real time limits and usual costs before committing.