IBA Publishes Updated Guidelines On Conflicts Of Interest In Arbitration

The International Bar Association (IBA) has released updated guidelines on Conflicts on Interest in International Arbitration. The Guidelines are a "soft law" instrument intended to assist in unifying the approach to conflicts of interest relating to arbitrators in international arbitration. Whilst they are not binding without party agreement, they are considered to promote best practice and are widely adopted internationally for assessing conflicts of interest and disclosures.

Whilst the spirit of the updated 2024 Guidelines remains unchanged, this update introduces some important changes to both the "General Standards" and the list of practical application of those standards set out in the second half of the Guidelines. In particular, additional examples of circumstances which would require disclosure by arbitrators are now included in the "Orange list". We have summarised the significant changes below.