“Tant vaut l’arbitre, tant vaut l’arbitrage” - “Arbitration is as good as arbitrators” is considered a golden rule in the arbitration community. The arbitration process cannot rise above the quality of the arbitrator. The arbitrators are “the sine qua non of the arbitral process”.
The importance of the arbitrator for the arbitral process raises a number of questions about the source of the arbitrators’ power and its relationship with the parties.
Associate Professor Fan’s published book chapter on ‘Arbitrator’s Contract’ in the Cambridge Compendium of International Commercial and Investment Arbitration addresses these issues and answers the following questions:
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What is the source of arbitrators’ power?
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How is the arbitrator’s contract formed?
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What are the rights and obligations of arbitrators under the arbitrator’s contract?
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What are the consequences if the arbitrators breach their obligations?
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To what extent should the arbitrators enjoy immunity from liability?
The Cambridge Compendium of International Commercial and Investment Arbitration (co-edited by Stefan Kröll, Andrea Bjorklund and Franco Ferrari) contains information on many of the foundational principles and concepts which underpin arbitration. Authors take a holistic perspective of international arbitration and focus on the fundamental issues underlying their topics – not the solutions which have been adopted in any particular jurisdiction. This makes the compendium a reliable international resource.
You can find the book chapter here.
You can read more about Associate Professor Kun Fan’s research on SSRN, Google Scholar and Twitter @Fankunlegal.