Topic: Conflict of interest

The International Bar Association arbitration committee has proposed updates to its guidelines on conflicts of interest in international arbitration for the first time in a decade, expanding the definition of relationships between arbitrators and parties and providing new examples of when disclosure is required.

05 March 2024

An event during Canadian Arbitration Week in Toronto discussed appropriate disclosure for arbitrators when accepting appointments, including recent case law from the UK, France and US that seeks to clarify applicable standards. Timothy Hughes, independent counsel and arbitrator based in Calgary, reports.

16 November 2023

The International Bar Association has formed a new task force to review its guidelines on conflicts of interest in international arbitration, with amendments expected to be finalised next year.

13 April 2023

Laurent Aynès has been disqualified as president of the arbitral tribunal hearing a US$32 billion case over a gas supply contract brought by Crescent Petroleum against Iran's national oil company.

27 March 2023

Documents leaked to GAR shed light on efforts by Iran's national oil company to disqualify the tribunal president in a US$32 billion arbitration with Crescent Petroleum, a challenge that is supposed to be decided this week.

14 March 2023

A company owned by Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos has lost a final appeal in the French courts relating to a US$646 million award, failing on arguments that the ICC was wrong to appoint all five members of the tribunal itself or that an arbitrator failed to disclose potential conflicts.

15 November 2022

Venezuela has successfully challenged Wolfgang Peter as arbitrator in an investment treaty case after raising concerns he could be influenced by the views of his Peter & Kim colleague Pierre Tercier in a similar dispute.

12 October 2022

A Spanish electricity company has failed to disqualify German arbitrator Inka Hanefeld from chairing an ICSID claim against Argentina over her failure to disclose having sat on another panel with the state’s expert.

12 September 2022

A Spanish contractor has failed in a renewed bid to overturn a US$40 million ICC award over a Peruvian refinery on the basis that two members of its counsel team joined the opposing side’s law firm while the arbitration was pending – as a separate dispute over a US$1 billion project in Algeria gets underway.

27 July 2022

A Brazil v Rest of the World football match organised as part of the ICCA Congress in Rio de Janeiro over a decade ago has been cited as part of a failed bid to annul an award in a €70 million ICC dispute, after it was argued that Italian arbitrator Stefano Azzali should have disclosed he played in the game alongside one of the lead counsel.

22 June 2022