Ad hoc arbitration in the hands of experienced arbitrators can be a far more pragmatic and flexible form of arbitration than institutional arbitration as administered, for example, by the International Chamber of Com-merce (ICC).

As an example, an ad hoc tribunal can be established in a matter of days (or even hours) and there are none of the delays associated with the agreement of ICC terms of reference. For this reason, for example, when taken with the supportive and prompt intervention of the English Commercial Court, there is no need for emergency arbitrators which may be necessary in the case of institutional arbitrations to bridge the of- ten-lengthy time gap between commencement of the arbitration and the establishment of the tribunal. The type of intervention or supervision conducted by institutions like the ICC tends to be cumbersome, expensive and to lead to unnecessary delays.