Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if a party so requests or if the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, the expert shall, after delivery of his or her written or oral report, participate in an oral hearing where the parties have the opportunity to question the expert and to present expert witnesses on the points at issue.
§ 1297.262.Participation of Expert In Oral Hearing
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 1297.262 requires a tribunal-appointed expert, if a party requests it or the tribunal considers it necessary, to take part in a hearing after delivering the written or oral report so the parties can question the expert and present their own expert witnesses.
Full Text of § 1297.262
Plain-English Summary
Section 1297.261 lets the tribunal appoint its own expert, but a report delivered without any chance to test it would leave the parties with little recourse if they disagreed. This section supplies that check. Unless otherwise agreed, if a party requests it or the tribunal considers it necessary, the expert must participate in an oral hearing after delivering the written or oral report.
At that hearing, the parties get two things: the opportunity to question the expert directly about the findings, and the chance to present their own expert witnesses on the same points the tribunal-appointed expert addressed. That combination keeps a tribunal's own expert from becoming the unchallenged last word on a technical issue -- the parties can probe the reasoning and put competing expert opinion on the record before the tribunal decides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party challenge the findings of an expert the tribunal appointed?
Yes. If a party requests it, or the tribunal considers it necessary, the expert must participate in a hearing where the parties can question the expert.
Can a party bring in its own expert to counter the tribunal's expert?
Yes. Section 1297.262 lets the parties present expert witnesses on the same points the tribunal-appointed expert addressed.
Is this hearing automatic every time a tribunal-appointed expert reports?
No. It happens if a party requests the hearing or the tribunal itself considers one necessary, not as an automatic step after every report.
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: questioning tribunal appointed expertparty expert witness rebuttal arbitration