Clifford Chance

This Practice Note sets out why and how a party might challenge an arbitrator’s independence and/or impartiality before the tribunal, an appointing authority or the court. It sets out the relevant provisions under the Arbitration Act 1996 (including the applied test for apparent bias) and leading institutional and ad hoc arbitration rules, including the LCIA, ICC and UNCITRAL rules. It also gives relevant case law and links to guidance such as the IBA Rules on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration.

This Practice Note considers the issues a party appointing an arbitrator should consider when trying to assess and ensure their independence and impartiality. It sets out points to consider when nominating an arbitrator and provisions in major sets of institutional rules such as those of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), as well as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for ad hoc arbitration. It discusses statements of independence and impartiality required from arbitrators under these various rules.

This Practice Note considers the availability of interim and emergency relief from arbitral tribunals (or arbitrators) under the arbitration rules of major arbitral institutions, namely: the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), the Swiss Arbitration Centre (SAC) (formerly the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution or SCAI), and the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC). This topic may be referred to as: provisional measures in international institutional arbitration; interim measures in international arbitration; interim measures in administered arbitration; injunctive relief in international arbitration; emergency interim relief in institutional arbitration; applying (applications) for interim and emergency relief in international commercial arbitration; and, conservatory relief in international arbitration. The availability of expedited arbitration procedures is also considered as part of this discussion.

This Practice Notes provides guidance on how to appoint an arbitral tribunal where there are multiple parties involved in the arbitration and the appointment process, including the position on common arbitrators across multi-party and related arbitration proceedings. It covers the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 and arbitration proceedings under the UNCITRAL Rules, the Arbitration Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA and LCIA Rules) and Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Rules).

This Practice Note considers how an arbitrator’s authority may be revoked and the consequences of such revocation. The Practice Note also sets out the consequences of the resignation or death of an arbitrator in terms of costs and liabilities.

This Precedent is a letter from a party to its party-appointed arbitrator confirming their appointment and giving details of the arbitration agreement relied upon and the identity of the parties involved in the dispute. This Precedent was written in partnership with Clifford Chance.

This is a precedent letter to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) requesting appointment of a sole arbitrator or president under its Rules of Arbitration.

This is a precedent letter from one party to its opponent initiating the appointment of a sole arbitrator by the exchange of lists.

This is a precedent letter from one party to its opponent initiating the appointment of a sole arbitrator by proposal of three candidates and seeking agreement to one of those candidates.