The International Bar Association (IBA) Arbitration Committee published its “Commentary on the Revised Text of the 2024 IBA Guidelines” in September 2024. The Commentary will serve as the authoritative guide to the updates made in the 2024 IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, which is widely regarded as the leading soft law instrument reflecting standards expected to apply to the impartiality and independence of arbitrators in international arbitrations. Associate Russell Childree served as Secretary for the IBA Arbitration Committee.
Excerpt: “The International Bar Association (‘IBA’) Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest (‘Guidelines’) are motivated by a simple premise: having a set of common best practices regarding disclosures of conflicts of interest promotes the efficiency, the effectiveness, and the legitimacy of international arbitration as a system to resolve disputes. While domestic laws or institutional rules and practice will necessarily provide the overarching framework governing arbitrator independence and impartiality, these sources of law often only offer limited practical guidance for arbitrators and parties regarding disclosure obligations and any ensuing objections and challenges.”
As detailed in the Commentary, the IBA Guidelines were first published in 2004 “to reflect an international consensus on standards that should be expected to apply to questions of impartiality and independence and disclosures of potential conflicts of interest in international arbitration.” The Guidelines have since been revised in 2014 and 2024 “to ensure that they continue to reflect modern best practices and promote the integrity, reputation, and efficiency of international arbitration.” The Commentary provides an in-depth analysis of the changes made in the recently-published 2024 IBA Guidelines and will serve as the go-to “interpretative aid” for arbitrators, counsel and scholars on the subject.
Read the full Commentary. If you are interested in further information or are faced with a question of arbitrator independence or impartiality, please contact a member of WilmerHale’s International Arbitration practice.
