The parties shall be treated with equality and each party shall be given a full opportunity to present his or her case.
§ 1297.181.Generally
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 5. Manner and Conduct of Arbitration · Article 1. Equal Treatment of Parties · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.181 requires that the parties to an arbitration be treated with equality and that each party be given a full opportunity to present its case, stating the foundational due-process principle running through the whole title.
Full Text of § 1297.181
Plain-English Summary
This short section carries outsized weight. It states, in a single sentence, the basic fairness guarantee that underlies every other procedural choice the tribunal and the parties make: equal treatment of the parties and a full opportunity for each side to present its case.
Nearly every later article in this chapter -- how procedural rules get set, where and when hearings happen, what language is used, how documents get translated -- exists to make this guarantee real in practice rather than just on paper. A tribunal's procedural discretion is broad, but it is not unlimited; it has to operate within the equal-treatment and full-opportunity floor this section establishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core fairness principle governing arbitral proceedings under this title?
That the parties are treated with equality and each is given a full opportunity to present its case.
Does the tribunal's discretion over procedure override this principle?
No -- the tribunal's broad discretion over procedure operates within, not instead of, the equal-treatment and full-opportunity guarantee.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective March 7, 1988.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: equal treatment of parties arbitration californiadue process international arbitration