Anti-Corruption In International Arbitration: A Toolkit For Arbitrators

Last month, the Competence Centre Arbitration and Crime, together with the Basel Institute on Governance, released a toolkit for arbitrators aimed at helping them to identify and deal with allegations of corruption and money laundering in international arbitration.¹ Acknowledging that international public policy increasingly demands attention to these important issues in arbitration, the toolkit sets out a step-by-step guide to help arbitrators recognise corruption, investigate it, and consider the possible consequences for the arbitration going forward. 

However, while the toolkit provides a basic framework, the detail of how each step should be applied is, at times, somewhat vague. It is evident throughout, particularly with regards to the choice of law and the burden and standard of proof, that there is scope for confusion and inconsistency, and that the consequences of a finding of corruption will largely be left to the arbitrator's discretion. It is therefore