Interim Relief Toolkit: Emergency Applications, Security Requests, and Court Assistance Motions

Document type: Toolkit Practice area: Arbitration — International Arbitration Jurisdiction: United States Last reviewed: 5 September 2026

Tool 1 — Triage sheet (complete in the first hour)

Matter: ___ Date/time: ___ Completed by: ___

1. Deadline. The irreversible event is ___ on ___. Working days available: ___ 2. Relief needed, in one sentence. ___ 3. Who must be bound? □ Counterparty only □ Also a third party: ___ (bank / purchaser / registry / custodian) — A COURT IS REQUIRED 4. The clause. Institution ___ · Rules ___ · Seat ___ · Emergency provisions: □ apply □ opted out · Court relief reserved: □ yes □ no 5. When did the client know? ___ What has it done since? ___ 6. Evidence in the file today. ___ 7. Is the harm calculable? □ yes → reconsider □ no → why: ___ 8. Is the counterparty solvent? □ yes → reconsider □ no/unknown 9. Does the relief preserve the position, or grant the claim? □ preserves □ grants → reconsider

DECISION: □ Emergency arbitrator □ Court □ Both □ Standstill letter first □ No application

Tool 2 — Forum decision matrix

Rule: run both only where each does something the other cannot. Disclose each to the other. Never re-litigate the same relief on the same facts.

Tool 3 — Standstill letter

Often the cheapest resolution. Send within hours.

[Date] — By email and courier — URGENT

Re: [Contract] — [conduct]

We act for [Client]. We are instructed that [Respondent] [has given notice of termination / intends to call the guarantee / has instructed the sale of ___], with effect from [date].

[Client] disputes [Respondent]'s entitlement to do so. [One paragraph: the contractual basis, in neutral terms.]

The parties' contract provides for arbitration under [rules], seated in [seat]. A tribunal cannot be constituted before [date]. If [Respondent] proceeds before that date, [Client] will suffer harm that no award could remedy, namely [one sentence].

[Client] therefore requires [Respondent]'s written confirmation, by [time] on [date], that it will take no step to [act] until the earlier of (i) [30] days from today and (ii) the determination of the dispute by an emergency arbitrator or the tribunal. This is without prejudice to either party's position on the merits.

If that confirmation is not received by the stated time, [Client] will apply for emergency relief under Article [___] of the Rules [and to [court] for interim relief in aid of arbitration], without further notice, and will rely on this letter on costs.

[Client] reserves all rights.

Why it works. It costs a day, it frequently produces the standstill, and where it does not it creates a documented record of promptness that answers the delay argument in the application that follows.

Tool 4 — Emergency application shell

APPLICATION FOR EMERGENCY MEASURES To: [Institution] · Under Article [___] of the [Rules]

I. SUMMARY (half a page: the deadline, the relief, why it cannot wait)

II. THE PARTIES (including a complete list of affiliates, guarantors, and funders for conflicts purposes)

III. THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT (quote it; identify the institution, rules, seat, and confirm the emergency provisions apply)

IV. THE DISPUTE (two pages maximum; enough for a prima facie case, no more)

V. THE URGENCY A. The irreversible event and its date (with the document evidencing it) B. Why the tribunal cannot be constituted in time (the institution's own appointment timeline) C. Chronology of the Applicant's knowledge and conduct (Exhibit — Tool 5) D. [If there has been delay: the explanation, addressed directly]

VI. IRREPARABLE HARM (evidence, not assertion — Tool 6 categories)

VII. BALANCE OF HARM (the Respondent's quantifiable and limited exposure)

VIII. THE RELIEF SOUGHT A. Immediate holding direction (Tool 7 — request this first) B. Primary relief (the draft operative order — Tool 8) C. Alternative narrower relief (the fallback, drafted) D. Security offered (Tool 9)

IX. PROCEDURAL PROPOSALS (response period, hearing format and date, page limits)

X. ARBITRATOR PROFILE (subject matter, languages, availability required)

Exhibits: the contract · the arbitration agreement · the document evidencing the deadline · the chronology · witness statement(s) · the harm evidence · the draft orders

Tool 5 — Chronology exhibit

The single most important document in an emergency application, on either side.

For an applicant: it proves promptness. For a respondent: the same table, prepared honestly, proves delay — and it is the most effective single document in an opposition.

Tool 6 — Irreparable harm evidence checklist

Never offer: bare assertions of irreparable harm · unsupported projections · financial loss recharacterized as reputational.

Tool 7 — Holding direction request

Include in the application. Routinely omitted, and frequently the thing that actually saves the client.

IMMEDIATE DIRECTION SOUGHT. Pending determination of this Application, and in order to preserve the efficacy of any relief the Emergency Arbitrator may grant, the Applicant respectfully requests that the Emergency Arbitrator direct, immediately upon appointment and before receiving the Respondent's submissions:

"The Respondent shall take no step to [call the Guarantee / complete the Sale / terminate the Agreement / dispose of the Assets identified in Schedule A] before the Emergency Arbitrator has determined this Application."

Such a direction preserves the position for a matter of days, causes the Respondent no prejudice that could not be compensated, and prevents the Application from being rendered nugatory by an act taken during the response period. The Applicant will comply with any conditions the Emergency Arbitrator considers appropriate.

Tool 8 — Draft operative orders

Draft the words. Under time pressure, a good draft is adopted.

Restraining termination "The Respondent shall not terminate, purport to terminate, or take any step to bring to an end the [Agreement], and shall continue to perform its obligations under it, including the supply of [Products] on the terms set out in [clause], until the Tribunal is constituted and determines otherwise, provided that the Applicant pays for all [Products] supplied in advance of despatch."

Restraining a guarantee call "The Respondent shall not make, or take any step towards making, a demand under [the Guarantee] until the Tribunal is constituted and determines otherwise. The Respondent shall notify the Applicant in writing not less than five (5) business days before making any demand permitted by any subsequent order."

Preserving assets "The Respondent shall not sell, transfer, assign, charge, encumber, or otherwise dispose of, or permit the disposal of, any of the assets identified in Schedule A, other than in the ordinary course of business and for full value, until the Tribunal is constituted and determines otherwise. The Respondent shall, within five (5) business days, provide the Applicant with a statement of the current location and status of each such asset, and shall give the Applicant not less than ten (10) business days' notice of any proposed disposal."

Preserving evidence "The Respondent shall preserve, and shall suspend the operation of any deletion, overwriting, or retention policy in respect of, all documents and electronically stored information relating to [subject], including email, messaging, and system logs, for the custodians identified in Schedule B, and shall confirm compliance in writing within five (5) business days."

Confidential information "The Respondent shall not use or disclose to any person any of the information identified in Schedule C, shall deliver up to the Applicant's external counsel all copies in its possession, custody, or control within seven (7) days, and shall provide a witness statement identifying every person to whom such information has been disclosed and the circumstances of each disclosure."

Parallel proceedings "The Respondent shall take all steps within its power to obtain a stay of the proceedings it has commenced in [court], and shall take no further step in those proceedings other than to obtain such a stay, until the Tribunal is constituted and determines otherwise."

Every order: operative · specific · bounded in time · capable of compliance · with a reporting obligation where useful.

Tool 9 — Security undertaking proposal

Anticipate the condition; do not wait for it.

SECURITY OFFERED. The Applicant recognizes that the relief sought may cause the Respondent loss if it is subsequently determined that the relief ought not to have been granted. The Applicant therefore offers:

(a) Quantum. Security in the amount of $[], calculated as [the Respondent's documented exposure: financing cost of $, break fee of $, and [X] months of margin at $].

(b) Form. □ An irrevocable standby letter of credit issued by [bank] □ Payment into an escrow account with [escrow agent] on the terms at Annex 1 □ An undertaking by [parent], whose financial position is evidenced at Exhibit [___].

(c) Timing. To be provided within [five] business days of the order, with the order taking effect on provision.

(d) Release. Upon the Tribunal's determination of the substantive claim, or earlier order.

(e) Claims against the security. Determined by the Tribunal on application, on the ordinary standard.

The Applicant is willing to discuss the quantum or form the Emergency Arbitrator considers appropriate.

Tool 10 — Opposition outline

I. SUMMARY. The Application should be refused. The Applicant has known of the matters complained of since [date] and did nothing for [N] weeks. The harm claimed is financial and calculable. The relief sought would grant the Applicant the substance of its claim on a two-day record.

II. NO URGENCY. [Chronology exhibit — Tool 5, prepared from the respondent's side. Documentary. This is the strongest available argument and it goes first.]

III. NO IRREPARABLE HARM. A. The harm claimed is loss of [revenue/sales], which is calculable. B. The Respondent is able to satisfy any award. [Short financial statement.] C. The Applicant offers no evidence of [the asserted reputational or market harm].

IV. THE BALANCE OF HARM FAVOURS REFUSAL. [The respondent's quantified exposure: commitments, financing, third-party obligations.]

V. THE RELIEF SOUGHT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CLAIM.

VI. IN THE ALTERNATIVE, ANY RELIEF SHOULD BE LIMITED. [The narrower counter-order, drafted — Tool 11.]

VII. ANY RELIEF SHOULD BE CONDITIONED ON SECURITY. [Quantified, with a proposed form.]

VIII. JURISDICTIONAL RESERVATION. [Express, without staking the response on it.]

Tool 11 — Narrower counter-order

The most productive move available to a respondent. Draft it yourself.

Without prejudice to its primary position that no relief should be granted, and expressly reserving all objections, the Respondent submits that if the Emergency Arbitrator is minded to grant relief, it should be limited to the following:

"The Respondent shall give the Applicant not less than ten (10) business days' written notice before [taking the act], and shall in the meantime preserve all documents relating to [subject]. This order shall lapse on the earlier of the constitution of the Tribunal and [date]. It is conditional on the Applicant providing security in the amount of $[___] in the form at Annex 1 within five (5) business days."

Such an order preserves the Applicant's ability to seek further relief from the Tribunal while permitting the Respondent to [continue its commercial arrangements], and is proportionate to the evidence before the Emergency Arbitrator.

Tool 12 — Court motion in aid of arbitration

MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN AID OF ARBITRATION

I. INTRODUCTION. (The deadline; the relief; why this Court and not the arbitrator.)

II. THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND THIS COURT'S ROLE. A. The parties have agreed to arbitrate. Plaintiff has commenced [arbitration / an emergency application]. B. The agreement expressly reserves the right to seek interim relief from a court (quote the clause), and such an application is not incompatible with the arbitration agreement. C. This relief cannot be obtained from the arbitrator because [Defendant Bank / the Purchaser] is not a party to the arbitration agreement / because ex parte relief is required / because coercive enforcement is required. D. Interim relief preserves rather than undermines the arbitration.

III. THE STANDARD. Likelihood of success on the merits; likely irreparable harm absent relief; the balance of equities; the public interest.

IV. APPLICATION. (Each element, with the evidence.)

V. BOND. (Proposed amount and basis.)

VI. SCOPE AND DURATION. (Limited to what the arbitrator cannot provide; expiring on the tribunal's constitution or a stated date.)

VII. DISCLOSURE. (The parallel arbitral application, its status, and what has been sought there.)

Note. Section VII is not optional. Concealing a parallel application costs credibility that cannot be recovered.

Tool 13 — Security for costs application

APPLICATION FOR SECURITY FOR COSTS (to the tribunal, not an emergency arbitrator)

1. Relief sought. An order that the Claimant provide security for the Respondent's costs in the amount of $[], in the form of [], within [30] days, failing which the claim be stayed.

2. The Claimant's financial position. [Accounts, filings, credit reports. Impecuniosity alone is not enough — identify what has changed.]

3. Change in circumstances. [Asset transfers, restructuring, a shell structure created for the claim, a change in ownership, the transfer of the claim.]

4. Third-party funding. Has the Claimant disclosed the existence and identity of a funder? Does the funder indemnify for adverse costs, and does it have the means? [The existence of funding is not itself a ground.]

5. Enforceability. Where a costs award would have to be enforced, and the practical prospects there.

6. Timing. Made at [stage]. [Early applications are more likely to succeed than those made after substantial costs have been incurred.]

7. Quantum. Estimated recoverable costs to the conclusion, itemized.

8. Proportionality. Why the amount is proportionate and would not stifle a genuine claim.

Tool 14 — Requests to the constituted tribunal

A. Confirmation of emergency relief (successful applicant) "The Claimant requests that the Tribunal, pursuant to Article [___], confirm and adopt as its own the measures ordered by the Emergency Arbitrator on [date], in the form of an interim award, on the same terms and until further order, and make the findings necessary to support recognition and enforcement, namely: (i) the Tribunal's jurisdiction; (ii) the urgency and the risk of irreparable harm; and (iii) that this award finally determines the application for interim relief."

B. Reconsideration (unsuccessful party) "The Respondent requests that the Tribunal reconsider the measures ordered by the Emergency Arbitrator on [date] in light of the evidence now available, which was not before the Emergency Arbitrator and which establishes [___]. The measures were granted on [N] days' evidence and are provisional by their terms."

C. Non-compliance (where an order has been ignored) "The Claimant reports that the Respondent has not complied with the Emergency Arbitrator's order of [date], in that [___]. The Claimant requests that the Tribunal (i) confirm the order in its own name as an interim award; (ii) direct compliance within [5] days; (iii) reserve the right to draw adverse inferences from continued non-compliance; and (iv) reserve the costs of this application to be dealt with as costs in the case, on the footing that non-compliance is a matter the Tribunal may take into account."

Tool 15 — Client briefing note

Send before filing. Fifteen minutes; prevents every subsequent misunderstanding.

EMERGENCY APPLICATION — WHAT TO EXPECT

What we are asking for: ___ Against whom: ___ Note: the emergency arbitrator cannot bind []; that requires a court. Deadline: ___ Timetable: appointment 1–2 days · their response 2–5 days · hearing ~day 8–10 · decision by day 14–15 Cost: application fee $ · arbitrator's fee ~$___ · our fees, compressed, ~$___ If we win: the order runs until the tribunal is constituted, in 2–4 months. The tribunal can confirm, change, or set it aside on fuller evidence. We will apply for confirmation. Likely condition: security of approximately $___. Please confirm this is available. If we lose: the tribunal will read the decision. We can renew with better evidence. It is not a merits determination, but it is not costless. What we need today: [documents] · [a witness who can speak to ___] · confirmation on security · one named person available at any hour until [date]

Related documents

• Emergency arbitrators and interim measures: getting urgent relief before a tribunal exists
• Obtaining emergency or interim relief in arbitration: a practical guide
• Emergency arbitration application checklist
• Complex arbitration toolkit: consolidation requests, joinder applications, and clause suites
• Parallel proceedings toolkit: anti-suit motions, comity analyses, and coordination protocols