Co-authored with Lucy Greenwood (Norton Rose Fulbright) and Michael McIlwrath (General Electric Company) Earlier this year, we published an article “Puppies or Kittens – How To Better Match Arbitrators to Party Expectations”, which we summarized here on Kluwer, calling for better-informed choices in appointing arbitrators. We highlighted that the lack of available information during the…

Co-authored with Michael McIlwrath, General Electric Company, and Ema Vidak-Gojkovic, Baker & McKenzie GAR Live Stockholm recently shone a spotlight on our article “Puppies or Kittens? How To Better Match Arbitrators to Party Expectations”, published in the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration earlier this year. In our article we proposed that arbitrators complete a questionnaire…

Discussions of arbitrators’ powers have riveted the international arbitration community. Practitioners increasingly face situations where arbitrators seem cautious and reluctant to rule on procedural issues. While such a careful approach may be advisable where arbitrators prudently avoid overstepping their powers, it may, at times, also frustrate parties and practitioners alike. This phenomenon has fostered endeavours…

Challenges of arbitrators seem to have become increasingly common in international investment arbitral proceedings, yet they also seem to be seldom successful. Challenges and Recusals of Judges and Arbitrators in International Courts and Tribunals, a new edited volume by Chiara Giorgetti, analyses arbitrators and judges’ challenges and addresses some fundamental, related questions: What does the…

Fellow Kluwer arbitration blogger, Duarte Henriques, recently started a Facebook page dedicated to discussing topical issues in international arbitration. The page regularly features “memes” all aspects of the practice. Below are a few. When international arbitration meets social media, no one is spared. – – – – – – – – – – – –…

Introduction It is often said that the choice of a party-nominated arbitrator is the single most important decision a party will make in any arbitration. The right to appoint one of the decision-makers sets the arbitral process apart from litigation, and is touted as a key selling point. When exercising this right, it is now…

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen. On 2 June 2015, the French Minister of Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl, submitted to the European Commission a proposal regarding the Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism included in the project for…

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s law firm. In previous posts, contributors have addressed the lack of gender diversity in arbitration. One post discussed the low percentage of women arbitrators in commercial and investment…

On the ground that arbitration is a consensual and neutral means of dispute resolution, it has been suggested that arbitrators ought to be wholly and exclusively at the service of the parties and that they are not entrusted with a mission to defend public interests. There may be reasons to call this view into question….

As a fitting tribute to the vision of the first dedicated arbitration education institution, the School of International Arbitration (SIA) marked its 30th anniversary with a two day conference looking back and looking forwards. Entitled “The Evolution and Future of International Arbitration: The Next 30 years”, it brought together over 200 graduates, academics and practitioners…

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s law firm. This year, Wendy Miles delivered the keynote speech at the YAF/YAPP Annual Conference on the second day of the Vis Moot. Attuned to the audience, the…

and Alexandra Mitretodis, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP In 0927613 BC Ltd v 0941187 BC Ltd, 2014 BCJ No 2659, decided on August 21, 2014, the British Columbia Supreme Court stated that in the domestic context, an arbitrator must comply with the rules of natural justice and consider what assistance can be useful to provide unrepresented…

In 2013, an extensive survey of experienced commercial arbitrators in the U.S. was conducted by the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution with the cooperation of the College of Commercial Arbitrators (CCA), an organization of more than two hundred of the most experienced arbitrators in the U.S. The Survey provides considerable new data on arbitrators’ experiences,…

The IBA recently revised its Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration. This was the culmination of a review by the IBA Arbitration Committee, which began in 2012. The salient changes address the rise of advance declarations by arbitrators; third-party funding; increasing significance of arbitral secretaries; and the possibility that an arbitrator, and counsel…

In the recent case of Pricol v. Johnson Controls (Pricol Limited v. Johnson Controls Enterprises Ltd and Ors, Arbitration Case (Civil) No.30 of 2014), the Supreme Court of India declined to intervene in an international arbitration with the SIAC as appointing authority, upholding the parties’ chosen mechanism in a well-reasoned decision which was marked by…

In its decision of 17.2.2014, the Austrian Supreme Court decided on a claimant’s request for reimbursement of the portion of the fees advanced to the arbitrator whom it had successfully challenged during ongoing proceedings and on his liability for frustrated costs caused by the challenge and the appointment of a new arbitrator. Further, the claimant…

With hopes that those in the northern hemisphere had a fun summer packed with arbitration-related events for themselves and their families, below are the answers to this year’s summer quiz. The answer keys to the crossword and the word hunt were published in August. While a Ph.d is not required to read the Kluwer arbitration…

The very nature of an arbitrator requires that she or he be imbued with the principles of independence and impartiality, qualities that should never be doubted. Nonetheless, there has recently been an increased number of challenges to arbitrators in Investment Arbitrations subject to the procedures of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the…

The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) confirmed that an arbitrator who is dismissed during the arbitration by a state court because of conflict of interest before the award is rendered may recover compensation for (useful) services rendered until dismissal (Austrian Supreme Court, Der Oberste Gerichtshof, OGH, 17 February 2014, 4 Ob 197/13v). The president of an…

In his President’s Message (ASA Bulletin, Vol. 32, no. 2, 2014), Elliott Geisinger proposes a real challenge to the arbitration community. In a simple but rather persuasive rhetorical style, Geisinger places in confrontation Me. Paul Philibert Confus, Avocat à la Cour and Sir Reginald Muddle, QC, giving life to a debate that seems to be…

How can arbitrators ensure the fair exchange of documents, and what role should arbitrators play in calling expert witnesses? When and how, if at all, should interim measures be used in international arbitration proceedings? These questions were tackled during a breakout session titled Arbitral Legitimacy: The User’s and Judge’s Perspectives at the ICCA Miami 2014…

On Monday, 7 April, at the 2014 ICCA Miami Conference, the international-arbitration community gathered to address the question, “Who are the arbitrators?” The answer, panel attendees were told, was “male, pale, and stale” – that is, a large majority of the individuals chosen to serve as international arbitrators are male, from North America or Western…

The most quintessential element of international arbitration is an impartial, independent and neutral tribunal. Where impartiality and independence of the arbitrators is equated with direct relation to or bias towards one of the parties, neutrality is related to the nationality of the arbitrator. In international sphere, the “appearance of neutrality” is considered equally important, meaning…