Party-Appointed Arbitrators: Hired Guns Or Loose Cannons?

John Redmond considers the role and responsibilities of party-appointed arbitrators

A client from another European jurisdiction recently commented that now that he had appointed an arbitrator in a substantial Uncitral arbitration involving a complex construction dispute, there would be no need for further legal representation. The arbitrator would, he assumed, take over, investigate the case and argue it before the chairman of the tribunal.

That mistake would not be made by anyone with any experience of commercial arbitration (which that client now has), but there remains an expectation that if you have retained one of the three arbitrators constituting the tribunal and are paying him a substantial fee, he should be looking after your interests.