Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may appoint one or more experts to report to it on specific issues to be determined by the arbitral tribunal, and require a party to give the expert any relevant information or to produce, or to provide access to, any relevant documents, goods, or other property for his or her inspection.
§ 1297.261.Generally
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 5. Manner and Conduct of Arbitration · Article 9. Expert Appointed by Arbitral Tribunal · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.261 lets the tribunal, unless the parties agreed otherwise, appoint one or more experts to report on specific issues, and require a party to give the expert relevant information or access to relevant documents, goods, or other property.
Full Text of § 1297.261
Plain-English Summary
Some questions in a dispute -- a technical valuation, an engineering failure, an accounting discrepancy -- call for expertise the arbitrators themselves may not have, and this section gives the tribunal a way to bring that expertise in directly. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the tribunal may appoint one or more experts to report on specific issues the tribunal itself identifies.
To make that report useful, the tribunal can also compel cooperation from the parties. It may require a party to give the expert relevant information, or to produce, or provide access to, relevant documents, goods, or other property so the expert can inspect them directly. That authority distinguishes a tribunal-appointed expert from a witness a party brings on its own -- this expert works for the tribunal, and the parties must support the investigation the tribunal has ordered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the arbitral tribunal bring in its own expert instead of relying only on party witnesses?
Yes, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The tribunal may appoint one or more experts to report on specific issues it identifies.
Can a party be forced to cooperate with the tribunal's expert?
Yes. The tribunal may require a party to give the expert relevant information or to produce, or provide access to, relevant documents, goods, or other property for inspection.
Do the parties get to question a tribunal-appointed expert?
Yes. Section 1297.262 lets the parties question the expert at a hearing after the report is delivered, and present their own expert witnesses on the same points.
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: tribunal appointed expert arbitration californiaarbitrator ordered expert report