Update No. 2: In-Person Hearings at the Peace Palace

From 30 August to 3 September 2021, the PCA administered hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, in a case involving a European private party and a Latin American sovereign State, both represented by European-based counsel. The PCA-organized hearing was held in a hybrid format, with the tribunal, counsel, experts, and most witnesses travelling to The Hague to participate in-person, while certain witnesses and support staff for counsel appeared remotely.

While a small number of hearings have taken place in person at the Peace Palace in The Hague since the imposition of travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first one to involve participants travelling from Latin America.

The PCA hearing was held in compliance with a dedicated sanitary protocol, including a requirement to present at the beginning of the hearing a negative COVID-19 test for each in-person participant. Further, 95% of the in-person hearing attendees had undergone a complete vaccination schedule against COVID-19.

As in all proceedings under its auspices, the PCA is able to facilitate the entry of hearing or meeting participants into the Netherlands. Although the Netherlands imposes self-quarantine requirements for travellers arriving from certain countries, persons invited by the PCA are exempt from such quarantine requirements for the purpose of attending PCA hearings or meetings.

Participants successfully relied on such entry and quarantine-exemption facilities to appear at the hearing. No COVID-19 infections have been reported among the hearing attendees.