The new rules introduce various solutions to issues previously experienced by users of the court, in particular with regard to limiting the duration of arbitral proceedings. To this end, after it is constituted, the arbitral tribunal will now order a preliminary meeting with the parties in order to agree an efficient and cost-effective manner of conducting the arbitration (Article 26.1). Additionally, after consulting the parties, the tribunal will issue a procedural order which will include a timetable for the arbitration, setting all the procedural deadlines, including, in particular, the time limit for issuing the award (Articles 26.2 – 26.3). What is more, Article 39 of the new rules mandates that the award will be issued within six months of the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. This deadline may only be extended, at the request of the arbitral tribunal, by the President of the Lewiatan Court. If the award is not issued within the time limit, due to reasons for which the tribunal or some of its arbitrators are responsible, their arbitrator fees may be affected.

Smaller claims (up to €12,000) will be subject to an amended "fast-track" expedited procedure and will be decided by a single arbitrator within three months of their appointment.

In addition, the new rules provide for an "emergency arbitrator" procedure. It is the first time that this feature has been introduced into the rules of a Polish arbitral institution. The emergency arbitrator procedure was drafted in an opt-out manner, that is, it will be applicable unless the arbitration agreement provides otherwise (Article 1 of Appendix II). According to the new rules, the emergency arbitrator will be entitled to issue orders concerning interim measures. For the sake of granting the parties effective protection, it will be bound to issue such an order no later than seven business days after a request to appoint an emergency arbitrator has been transmitted (Article 6 of Appendix II).

These new procedures should significantly reduce the duration of arbitral proceedings as well as contribute to the enforceability of arbitral awards, and therefore to the effectiveness of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. Although it remains to be seen how the new procedures will work in practice, it is clear that with these modern, and somewhat revolutionary, changes to Lewiatan Arbitration Rules, arbitration in Poland takes another step forward.