仲裁由合同中的仲裁条款触发. 仲裁条款通常会规定，如果因合同或合同范围内的事项引起争议, 此事必须提交仲裁.
合同的任何一方均可自由签发一份 争议通知 并且争议通知仅需提及存在争议或差异的事实, 尽管许多律师喜欢提出争端的基本框架.
争议方在考虑了合同中的仲裁条款后，还将把该事项移交给合同上确定为指定仲裁员的机构. 国际刑事法院,
Some arbitration clauses stipulate that the parties can agree upon an arbitrator but in the absence of agreement the parties are required to refer the matter to the nominating body. The nominating body may be the ICC, SCC或其他仲裁机构. The body that is nominated in the contract is the body that chooses the arbitrator.
仲裁员必须是合格的仲裁员, 或一组三名仲裁员，尽管这会大大增加成本.
接受订婚后, an arbitrator will require funds to be placed in trust prior to the crystallisation of his or her appointment. 款项通常存放在提名机构持有的帐户中. 将款项存入帐户后，仲裁员将写信给当事方，并命令他们参加听证会, where the procedure to be followed in the case is discussed.
规范是律师应聘请争议律师和律师, 在最初的指示听证会, 将介绍定义冲突的问题的提要和描述.
这样的过程非常让人想起法院. 与辩护人同组的仲裁员通常会做出以下类型的命令.
- 一个 索赔书 将被提交以阐明争议的细节.
- 一个 辩护声明 将在有反请求的情况下提出，反请求将与抗辩书一起提出.
- 原告将被命令提起诉讼 reply to the statement of defence 反诉.
- The second memorial filed by the defendant is typically called the 拒绝声明.
- 一个 发现令 may be forthcoming, 并责令双方起草并提交书面誓章，其中包括与争议合同有关的所有文件.
- There may be an order for discovery whereby both parties will be afforded the opportunity to 检查对方的文件.
- 通常, 各方希望保留 专家证人提供专家意见 关于构成争议成分的问题. 然后必须准备专家证人证词, 送达并归档.
- 可能有命令将案件隔离进行调解, 虽然这是可选的. Mediation is less expensive to resolve a dispute than arbitration, but it only works when both parties have a minimum of good faith and are interested in settling the dispute.
- 还将有进一步的命令规定，要求当事各方参加进一步的遵从指示听证会，以确保确实在到期日之前提交了提交和提出中间诉状的时间表。.
- 一旦事情进展到相关诉状已经提交和送达的程度, 发现已经完成，并将提交专家证人陈述以供审理.
- 在整个过程中，仲裁员将要求当事方提前支付信托款项. At the ICC, these amount are called an advance on costs.
All major arbitration institutions have a similar procedural framework, with slight, but at times important, 变化.