(a) Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties, evidence before the arbitral tribunal may be given orally or in writing or by affidavit. This provision seems to confer a wide discretion on all concerned [section 22 (1)].

(b) Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties, an arbitral tribunal "shall not be bound by the provisions of the Evidence Ordinance" [section 22 (3)].

 

It may be recalled that it is for the arbitral tribunal to determine the "admissibility, relevance and weight of any evidence" [section 17].

 

However, the Sri Lanka Act is silent about the "materiality" of the evidence, - a concept expressly mentioned in section 19 (4) of the Indian Act of 1996.