Answer ... (a) Procedure, including evidence?
With regard to the procedure, the PAL establishes rules on the conduct of the arbitral proceedings, in particular to ensure the compliance with basic and mandatory principles: (i) the respondent shall be summoned to submit its defence; (ii) the parties shall be treated equally and given a reasonable opportunity to assert their rights, both in writing and orally, before the issuance of a final award; and (iii) the “due process” principle shall be complied with at all stages of the proceedings, except where otherwise provided by the law (Art. 30 (1) PAL). Without prejudice, until the acceptance of the first arbitrator, the parties may agree on the rules of procedure to be observed in the arbitration proceeding to be adopted by the arbitral tribunal, provided that those principles and other mandatory rules are respected (Art. 30 (2) PAL).
Additionally, the PAL does not prescribe an exhaustive list of admissible means of evidence in arbitral proceedings, thus the powers of the arbitral tribunal include, among others, the determination of the admissibility and relevance of any evidence presented or to be presented by the parties.
(b) Interim relief?
Once constituted, the arbitral tribunal may grant interim measures (Art. 20 PAL) and modify, suspend, or terminate an interim measure or a preliminary order it has granted or issued, upon application of any party or, in exceptional circumstances and after hearing the parties, on the arbitral tribunal’s own initiative (Art. 24 (1) PAL). An interim measure issued by an arbitral tribunal shall be binding on the parties and, unless otherwise provided by the arbitral tribunal, shall be enforced upon application to the competent state court, irrespective of whether the arbitration in which it was issued being seated abroad (Art. 27 (1) PAL).
(c) Parties which do not comply with its orders?
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of interim decisions: preliminary orders and interim measures, which may be defined according to international legal standards. The difference between those two is, whilst interim measures may be enforced in state courts (Art. 27(1) PAL), preliminary orders do not enjoy such facility (Art. 23(5) PAL). Notwithstanding, regarding procedural orders such as those related to the production of evidence, whenever the parties do not comply with the orders issued by the arbitral tribunal, a state court may assist arbitral proceedings by ordering disclosure/discovery or requiring the attendance and deposition of witnesses.
(d) Issuing partial final awards?
Partial final awards are expressly set forth in the PAL for the cases where the tribunal decides upon its own competence (Art. 18(8) PAL) and it is otherwise commonly understood that arbitral tribunals enjoy the power to make partial awards.
(e) The remedies it can grant in a final award?
There are no limitations as to the types of remedies available in arbitration, although Portuguese law does not allow punitive damages, i.e., in addition to the existence of actual damages – however, penalty clauses are valid and enforceable under Portuguese law.
(f) Interest?
Interest is considered to be a matter of substantive law and, therefore, the arbitral tribunal holds the power to award interest as long as the applicable law so provides for.