arbitrators’ conduct

Code of Conduct, double-hatting, Investor-State arbitration, investor-State arbitration and mediation, Investor-state tribunals, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Reform, UNCITRAL, UNCITRAL WG3 Series

(Australian National University) and / /1 Comment

In 2017, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) initiated a consultative process to consider procedural reform options for investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). Kluwer Arbitration Blog ran a series on UNCITRAL’s reform work in 2020, highlighting several subjects under consideration by Working Group III (WGIII). To get first-hand insights into the current status…

Arbitrator Bias, Arbitrator Challenges, arbitrators’ conduct, Brazil, Latin America, Transparency

(FGV Law SP - Law School of São Paulo) and (Independent Arbitrator)/ /Leave a comment

The Center for Studies and Research in Arbitration from the University of São Paulo (“CEPArb-USP”) has recently made public the findings of its pioneer empirical research on challenges of arbitrators in domestic proceedings in Brazil. The initiative analyzed data from challenges in proceedings administered by the Câmara de Mediação e Arbitragem Empresarial – Brasil (CAMARB)….

Arbitration Proceedings, arbitrators’ conduct, Functus Officio, New York Arbitration Week

(Binder & Schwartz LLP) and (Cleary Gottlieb)/ /Leave a comment

During New York Arbitration Week 2021, the New York International Arbitration Center (“NYIAC”) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”) New York branch hosted two panels dedicated to the theme of “Getting It Right in International Arbitration.”  This post presents some highlights.   Getting it Right:  How Arbitrators, Counsel, and Institutions Can Improve the Quality…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration Proceedings, arbitrators’ conduct, Challenge of Arbitral Award, COVID-19, Procedure, Remote hearings, Virtual hearings

(WilmerHale & Queen Mary University of London), (ArbBoutique), and (Zulficar & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an unprecedented impact on individuals, entities, businesses, and states. National court systems and alternative dispute resolution regimes have also been severely affected. Yet, international arbitration has demonstrated itself to be both adaptable and resilient throughout the crisis and emerged more strongly positioned as a method of dispute resolution for a…

Arbitration, arbitrators’ conduct, ICC Rules, LCIA Rules, Liability, PCA, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules

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Young ICCA

There was a time when arbitrators were to a large extent immune from liability and could thus not be sued before national courts for damages caused to the parties to a dispute. This was true mainly in common law jurisdictions and was probably the case in most civil law countries as well. For instance, under…

2019 In Review, Amparo, Arbitration Act, arbitrators’ conduct, Brazil, Bribery, Colombia, Commercial Arbitration, Constitutional Court, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guaidó, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Latin America, Mexico, OAS Guide, Odebrecht investigation, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

2019 was a lively year for international arbitration in Latin America – especially in the international commercial arbitration arena, which is the focus of this post. Contributors to Kluwer Arbitration Blog reported mostly on favorable developments on arbitration-related legislation, case law and other initiatives. The year, however, ended with a regrettable situation in Peru, where…

Arbitration, arbitrators’ conduct, Code of best practices, Conflicts of interest, Diversity, Duty to Disclose, Spain

(Mihaela Maravela Law Office) and (GIN Platform Blockchain Infrastructure)/ /1 Comment

In June 2019, the Spanish Arbitration Club (“CEA”) launched a new Code of Best Practices in Arbitration (the “Code”). This post briefly describes the scope of the Code and provides insights on the specific best practices proposed by CEA. The initiative is commendable, as it reflects the CEA community experience and tackles hot topics in…

Arbitration, arbitrator-party relationship, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Lex Arbitri, Liability, Switzerland

(Ellex Valiunas )/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Without any doubt, international commercial arbitration found its place in the system of international dispute settlement. Many natural and legal persons choose to solve their disputes via the means of arbitration and in most of the cases arbitration is international in many aspects: Parties are from different countries, arbitrators are of different nationalities, sitting in…

Arbitration, Arbitrator's mandate, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct

(Derains & Gharavi)/ /Leave a comment

After introduction by the French Arbitration Committee’s (Comité Français de l’Arbitrage or “CFA”) President, Mr. Laurent Jaeger, Mr. Yves Derains started his speech on “The Professionalism of the Arbitrator” by saying that arbitration has become the natural way to resolve international disputes.1) This note was based on Mr. Yves Derains’ speech at the 10 October 2018 Conference of the French…

Africa, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Ethics, Ethiopia

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If you are a counsel in an ongoing arbitration, you have two obligations: 1) navigate your ways through provisions of the applicable law so that you can litigate as a professional; 2) satisfy your client with your service and make sure that all his questions are answered properly. Especially, if an arbitrator (whether or not…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Counsel

(Bocconi University)/ /2 Comments
Arbitrator Intelligence

Before answering the titular question, let’s start with the more basic question: What is a race to the top? The phrase seems self-explanatory. It is a compelling and vivid metaphor that has by now entered to the public lexicon. But the phrase “race to the top” originated as a counterpart to the more ominous phrase:…

Anti-Money Laundering, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, arbitrators’ conduct, Counsel, Counsel conduct, Germany, New York Convention, Public Policy

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP) and , (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

In June 2017, the Fourth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the “Fourth EU Directive” (EU) 2015/849) was transposed into German law. The regime was further tightened, its scope was extended and new features, such as the transparency register, were introduced. With the fifth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive already on the horizon, more changes are to come….

Arbitrator Challenges, arbitrators’ conduct, Deliberations, Disclosure, English courts, Secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal, Tribunal Secretary, Tribunal's assistant

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The English High Court has reinforced its pro-arbitration stance in two recent judgments in the case of P v Q [2017] EWHC 148 (Comm.) and [2017] EWHC 194 (Comm.). Much attention has been devoted to the failed application under section 24 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”) to remove the arbitral tribunal on…

Arbitrator's mandate, arbitrators’ conduct, Deliberations, Ethics, Liability, Set aside an arbitral award

(Rodrigo Elías & Medrano) and (Bullard Falla Ezcurra +)/ /4 Comments

Back in 2010, an arbitral tribunal composed by Luis Ramallo García (chairman), Miguel Temboury and Santiago Gastón ordered Puma to pay € 98 million to Estudio 2000 for the wrongful termination of their distribution contract. Notably, Mr. Gastón – appointed by Puma – did not sign the award. It was later revealed that he was…

Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct

, , (Bullard Falla Ezcurra +)/ /12 Comments

A group of lawyers has been coveted in recent years by the most prestigious law firms. They are supposed to predict results more accurately than Gary Born, create more persuasive stories than Stanimir Alexandrov and even issue better awards than Gabrielle Kauffman-Kohler. Their names are Watson, Ross, Lex Machina and Compas – they are Machine…

Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Evidence, ICSID Arbitration, Investment, Investment Arbitration, ISDS

(Washburn University School of Law)/ /2 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

Newspapers, cable television shows, and Twitter are abuzz with claims of “fake news.” Within the past two weeks alone, the U.S. President accused his predecessor of wiretapping his office building, apparently in reliance upon reporting in online news media. More traditional news outlets have responded with innuendo that the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau…

Africa, Annulment, Arbitrator's Fees, arbitrators’ conduct, Award Scrutiny, CCJA Arbitration, OHADA, Set aside an international arbitral award

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /3 Comments
Herbert Smith Freehills

In a highly unusual arbitral decision, the Cour Commune de Justice et d’Arbitrage (CCJA), the court created by the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Commercial Law in Africa) (OHADA) Treaty, signed by 17 African States, has ruled that an award should be set aside on…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitrator Challenges, arbitrators’ conduct, Book Review, Conflicts of interest, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, ICSID Convention

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School) and (Three Crowns LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Three Crowns LLP

By: Kiran N. Gore and Alexandros Diplas The Blog recently featured a book review of the recently published Challenges and Recusals of Judges and Arbitrators in International Courts and Tribunals, edited by Professor Chiara Giorgetti of University of Richmond Law School. This review was a timely follow up to the December 10, 2015 book launch…

Arbitration, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Counsel conduct, ICC Arbitration, Uncategorized

(MDisputes)/ /4 Comments

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. – – – – – – – – – – – –…

Arbitrability, Arbitration Act, Arbitration institution, arbitrators’ conduct, Bribery, Criminal law and arbitration, Domestic arbitration, National Arbitration Laws, Russia

(Arbitration Court at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs)/ /1 Comment

In 2013 the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin announced in his annual message to the Council of the Federation: “I would like to attract your attention to one more problem – the mechanisms of commercial dispute resolution are still not as good as the global practice is, and it is necessary to raise…

Arbitral Award, Arbitral seat, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Best practices, Commercial Arbitration, Document Production, Due process, International arbitration, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Procedure, Uncategorized

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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…

Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, India

(ICC International Court of Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

and Niyati Gandhi A done to death topic in arbitration gatherings in emerging markets, particularly in India, is the debate about ad hoc versus institutional arbitration. The basic arguments in favour and against both have been discussed time and again. However, renewed support for institutional arbitration can be found in two recent judgments from the…

arbitrators’ conduct, Australia, Enforcement, Estoppel, New York Convention

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) recently upheld a decision enforcing an arbitral award made by three London arbitrators (Gujarat NRE Coke Limited v. Coeclerici Asia (Pte) Ltd [2013] FCAFC 109). The Court dismissed the appeal confirming that the arbitrators did not deny the appellants procedural fairness and did not…

Arbitration, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct

(Schellenberg Wittmer)/ /1 Comment
Schellenberg Wittmer

by James Menz and Anya George, Schellenberg Wittmer The (proper) use of administrative secretaries is a recurring topic in the arbitration community. The debate has flared up again in recent months, following the issuance, in August 2012, of the ICC Secretariat’s new Note on the Appointment, Duties, and Remuneration of Administrative Secretaries and, a few…