Delegation Of Decision-Making Powers To AI In Arbitration

I. Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) tools have transformed the way lawyers work, significantly increasing efficiency and reducing the time spent on tasks. Unsurprisingly, the trend has also made its way into the field of arbitration. AI now assists arbitral tribunals in calculating procedural timetables, conducting legal research and summarizing complex and voluminous case files, among other tasks. It has even been discussed as a candidate for the arbitrator’s role itself.¹

At the same time, the use of AI by arbitrators has raised serious questions and risks, a prominent one being the delegation of decision-making to AI tools in violation of the arbitrator’s personal mandate. This is not new. In fact, the question of whether a secretary’s drafting assistance essentially replaced the personal judgment of the appointed arbitrators and violated the parties’ right to select their decision-maker has been a topic of debate.² With the emergence of generative AI, it has taken