Procedural Order Drafter

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name: procedural-order-drafter
description: Drafts arbitral procedural orders and case-management timetables from tribunal directions, party submissions, applicable rules, and hearing logistics. Use when a tribunal secretary, arbitrator, or counsel needs Procedural Order No. 1, a timetable, document-production protocol, hearing directions, confidentiality arrangements, or an order recording procedural decisions. Use a neutral tribunal voice and distinguish agreed matters, tribunal rulings, and unresolved proposals; do not use for merits awards or party pleadings.
---

# Procedural Order Drafter

## Purpose

Convert the procedural framework, tribunal decisions, and party positions into a clear, internally consistent order that all participants can follow without guessing what is required or when.

## Required inputs

Obtain:

- the arbitration agreement, seat, institution, applicable rules, and tribunal constitution;
- terms of reference or equivalent foundational document, if any;
- tribunal directions and party submissions on procedure;
- agreed and disputed items from the case-management conference;
- the procedural calendar, time zones, holidays, and hearing format;
- any confidentiality, data, cybersecurity, or document-production protocol; and
- the intended order number, date, signatories, and distribution list.

Treat the tribunal's actual ruling and the distinction between agreement and dispute as blocking. Insert a clearly labelled placeholder where the tribunal has not decided an issue; do not decide it while drafting.

## Method

1. Identify the source of procedural authority and any mandatory requirements. Verify the current official rules and seat law when the order states a legal power or consequence.
2. Create a decision ledger with three categories: Agreed by the Parties, Directed by the Tribunal, and Reserved or Unresolved. Use that ledger to prevent a party proposal from becoming an order accidentally.
3. Establish communication rules: authorised recipients, filing platform, copying protocol, form of request, business hours, time zone, deemed receipt, and prohibition on unilateral communication.
4. Build a dependency-aware calendar. Sequence pleadings, document production, fact evidence, expert evidence, pre-hearing steps, hearing, post-hearing submissions, and costs. Check that each response date follows the material it answers and that dates match weekdays and stated time zones.
5. Define filing mechanics: formats, page limits if directed, numbering, bundles, translations, electronic signatures, authorities, metadata, and correction of errors.
6. State evidentiary procedure: burden remains a merits question unless ruled; address witness statements, experts, document requests, objections, privilege logs, hearing attendance, examination order, and tribunal questions only to the extent directed.
7. Address hearing logistics, interpretation, transcription, recording, confidentiality, data handling, public access where relevant, and accessibility needs.
8. State consequences of non-compliance only where the tribunal has authority and intends them. Preserve procedural fairness, opportunity to be heard, proportionality, and liberty to apply.
9. Run a consistency check across names, defined terms, order numbers, cross-references, dates, time zones, and annexed timetable.

## Output

Produce:

1. **Procedural order**, in neutral tribunal voice, with authority, background, reasons where required, and numbered directions.
2. **Procedural timetable**, as a table with event, responsible participant, date, time zone, and dependency.
3. **Reserved-issues list**, identifying what the tribunal still must decide.
4. **Consistency report**, listing any conflict in the source directions that prevents clean finalisation.

## Guardrails

- Do not invent tribunal decisions, party consent, reasons, sanctions, waivers, or dates.
- Do not describe a contested proposal as agreed.
- Do not use the order to determine merits, admissibility, or jurisdiction unless the tribunal actually ruled on that issue.
- Do not import a model protocol that conflicts with the selected rules or party agreement.
- Preserve both parties' equal opportunity to present their case and flag timetables that make that opportunity unrealistic.