2. What Is Technological Competence in the Current Arbitration World?

This chapter is based on a range of sources including studies carried out by international organizations, documents endorsed by professional associations and scholarly contributions. The chapter starts from broad definitions such as digital literacy in contemporary society and technological competence for judges and lawyers. Building on these notions, the overall aim is to sketch out a working definition of technological competence that is specifically applicable to modern arbitrators. The difficulty of creating a universal and immutable definition due to a range of factors such as continuous technological advances and differences within the broad arbitrator collective is acknowledged. In spite of these circumstances, the arbitration community would be well-advised to move towards a consensus on a definition of technological competence for the profession. This chapter proposes a working definition of the minimum level to be expected from arbitrators, which is sufficiently flexible to be nuanced as technological and legal advances require. Drawing a distinction between “basic” and “premium” technological competence might be a useful starting point and one that will be further developed in Chaps. 4–6.