Comparative Civil Procedure
Procedure & Regularity for Accuracy, True Dispute Resolution and Happiness

Contractual Solutions for Countering Guerrilla Tactics in Arbitration: From Preventive Clauses to Agreed-Upon Sanctions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

zeinab talabaki 1
Hedayat Allah Soltaninejad 2
Mahdi Hasanzadeh 3

1 **PhD in Private Law, University of Qom**

2 Assistant Professor in Private Law, Qom University

3 Professor, Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

Abstract
The arbitration agreement, as the cornerstone of dispute resolution, is commonly viewed merely as an instrument for referring a dispute to arbitration. However, this minimalist approach overlooks its crucial potential to combat the destructive phenomenon of “guerrilla tactics”—a set of vexatious and dilatory actions aimed at protracting and undermining the proceedings, thereby eroding the fundamental advantages of arbitration: speed and efficiency. Therefore, this article aims to present a preventive contractual framework for disarming the “arbitration guerrilla” and addresses the key question: how can the arbitration agreement, through intelligent engineering, be transformed into an effective shield against this procedural scourge? Using a descriptive-analytical method, this study demonstrates that the key to an effective response lies not in ex post facto remedies, but in the activation of the principle of party autonomy. The findings indicate that by designing a structured and disciplined process (such as establishing codes of conduct and setting firm deadlines), stipulating effective financial sanctions (like cost allocation based on misconduct and the use of procedural penalty clauses), and incorporating powerful enforcement tools (suchas asymmetric clausesand requests for adverse inferences), parties can transform thearbitration agreement into a robust fortress against deliberate disruptions, thereby ensuring the integrity and efficiency of arbitration.

Keywords

Guerrilla Tactics
Arbitration Agreement
Contractual Solutions
Preventive Clauses
Procedural Sanctions
Subjects
Comparative Civil Procedure
Volume 2, Issue 3
August 2026
Pages 105-126

  • Receive Date 16 December 2025
  • Revise Date 04 February 2026
  • Accept Date 05 February 2026
  • Publish Date 23 July 2026

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