The amended Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”) arbitration rules came into effect on February 1, 2014. These amendments were a significant overhaul from the predecessor rules and follow international best practices. This note highlights a number of the key amendments below: Terms of Reference (Rule 40) Rule 40 allows a tribunal to utilize a Terms of Reference to narrow down the issues of an arbitration at the outset of the proceedings. However it is not…