Glossary of litigation and arbitration terms

Short, neutral definitions of the terms that come up when exhibits are numbered, cited, bundled and filed: in English courts, in international arbitration and, where the vocabulary differs, in German, Swiss and French practice.

Updated

Exhibits and numbering

Exhibit
A document or object put in evidence and identified by a number or mark. In international arbitration exhibits are numbered by party (C-1, R-1); in English affidavit practice they carry the deponent’s initials and a number.
Factual exhibit
An exhibit that proves a fact, such as a contract, letter or set of minutes, as opposed to a legal authority. ICSID’s model procedural order numbers them C- and R-.
A treaty, statute, judgment, award or article relied on for a proposition of law. In arbitration authorities run in their own series, CL-/RL- or CLA-/RLA-.
Exhibit mark
In English practice, the identifying initials and number of an exhibit to an affidavit or witness statement, such as “JS1”. PD 32 asks for it on the first page of the exhibit.
Demonstrative exhibit
A chart, timeline or slide compiled from material already on the record for use at the hearing, without new evidence. ICSID’s model order numbers them CD- and RD-.
Bates number
A unique, sequential identifier stamped on every page of a production or exhibit set, often with a prefix (ABC000123). Some procedural orders prescribe page numbers within exhibits, such as C-1_001.
List of exhibits
A table of a party’s exhibits with number, description, date and the submission each was filed with. ICSID’s model order calls for a cumulative index with every pleading.
Anlage (DE)
An exhibit to a German written submission; § 131 ZPO requires documents referred to in a pleading to be attached in copy. The claimant’s exhibits are commonly numbered Anlage K 1, K 2 …, the defendant’s Anlage B 1, B 2 …
Beilage (CH)
The term used in Swiss practice for an exhibit to a written submission, numbered in series such as Beilage 1, 2 …
Pièce (FR)
A document relied on in French proceedings, numbered (pièce n° 1) and communicated to the other parties.
Bordereau (FR)
The list of pièces annexed to written submissions (conclusions). Before the tribunal judiciaire, art. 768 of the Code de procédure civile requires one.

Bundles and filing

Bundle
A paginated, indexed compilation of the documents for a hearing. In English civil proceedings the claimant files the trial bundle (CPR r. 39.5).
Trial bundle
The bundle for the trial itself; PD 32 para 27.5 lists what it should contain, from statements of case to experts’ reports.
Core bundle
A short bundle of the most important documents, prepared where there are numerous bundles. In the Commercial Court each of its pages also shows its main bundle and page reference.
Authorities bundle
The cases, statutes and other legal materials the advocates will refer to, kept separate from the hearing bundle.
Agreed bundle
A bundle agreed between the parties. Under PD 32 para 27.2 its documents are admissible as evidence of their contents unless the court orders otherwise or a party objects in writing.
E-bundle
A bundle delivered as a PDF. In England its format follows the General Guidance on Electronic Court Bundles: pagination matching the PDF, hyperlinked index, bookmarks and OCR.
Skeleton argument
A concise written outline of a party’s case for a hearing. The Commercial Court Guide limits its length and requires a Word version.
Reading list
The documents the judge should read before or during the hearing. Before a Commercial Court trial, a single list approved by all advocates is due by 4 pm on the last working day beforehand.
Chronology
A dated list of the relevant events, cross-referenced to the documents, ideally agreed and neutral in tone.

Arbitration

Request for Arbitration
The document that starts an ICC arbitration (Article 4 of the ICC Rules). The respondent replies with an Answer (Article 5).
Terms of Reference
In ICC arbitration, the document the tribunal draws up at the start defining its mission, including a summary of the claims and, where appropriate, the issues (Article 23).
Procedural Order No. 1
The tribunal’s first procedural order, issued after a first session or case management conference. It typically fixes the timetable, language, filing method, exhibit numbering and document production.
Memorial
In ICSID and similar proceedings, the requesting party’s first full written submission: facts, law, arguments and request for relief (ICSID Rule 30).
Counter-memorial
The responding party’s answer to the memorial, admitting or denying its facts and setting out its own case.
Reply
The requesting party’s second-round submission, limited to responding to the counter-memorial and to new facts.
Rejoinder
The responding party’s second-round submission, answering the reply.
Witness statement (CWS, RWS)
A witness’s written evidence, numbered CWS-1, RWS-1 and so on. Under Article 8.5 of the IBA Rules the parties may agree, or the tribunal may order, that it serves as the witness’s direct testimony.
Expert report (CER, RER)
A party-appointed expert’s written opinion, numbered CER-1, RER-1 and so on.
Document production
The phase in which a party asks the other to produce documents; the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence (Article 3) set the usual requirements for a Request to Produce.
Redfern schedule
A table for document requests with columns for the request, the reasons, the objections and the tribunal’s decision.
Stern schedule
A variant of the Redfern schedule with an added column for the requesting party’s response to the objections.

Citations

Pinpoint citation
A reference to the exact page or paragraph relied on, such as “C-41, p. 3” or “CL-12, ¶ 123”.
Full and short form
Citation practice in which the first reference to a source is given in full and later references in a short form.
Paragraph sign (¶)
The symbol for a numbered paragraph; ¶¶ marks a range. Common for witness statements, expert reports and awards.
Table of authorities
A list of the legal authorities cited in a submission, often with the paragraphs or pages where each appears; also called an index of authorities.
Beweisantritt (DE)
The formal offer of evidence in a German pleading: a line naming the means of proof for an allegation, such as an exhibit (“Beweis: Anlage K 3”).

Documents and PDFs

OCR
Optical character recognition: turning scanned page images into searchable, selectable text. Required for e-bundles in England and for filings under ICSID’s model order.
Bookmark
An entry in a PDF’s navigation pane that jumps to a document or section. The English e-bundle guidance requires one for each significant document.
Page label
The page number a PDF viewer displays, which can differ from the page’s physical position (for example “C245” or “iii”).
Hyperlinked index
An index whose entries open the listed documents; ICSID asks for a consolidated one covering the whole case file.
E-brief
A submission whose citations are hyperlinked to the cited exhibits, testimony and authorities.
Redaction
Removing confidential or privileged content from a document. True redaction deletes the underlying text; a black box drawn over it does not.
Metadata
Information stored in a file about the file: author, dates, comments, tracked changes. The Commercial Court asks for it to be removed from bundles.

Frequently asked questions

Is an exhibit the same as a legal authority?
No. Exhibits prove facts; legal authorities support propositions of law. In arbitration they are filed in separate series, for example C-12 for a contract and CL-12 for an award.
Are these terms defined by any rule?
Some are, such as the bundle provisions in PD 32 or the memorial in ICSID Rule 30. Many others, including the C-/R- prefixes and the Stern schedule, are practice, usually fixed case by case in a procedural order.

Sources

Be among the first counsel to use LitArbi.

Beta seats are limited. Reserve yours and we'll let you know the moment your invitation is ready.

No credit card · Free during the beta · macOS and Windows