LCIA Releases Additional Challenge Decisions Online

16 December 2024

As part of its ongoing commitment to transparency, and continuing its thought leadership in this area, the LCIA has published the third batch of challenge decisions comprising an additional 24 LCIA and UNCITRAL arbitration challenge decisions decided by the LCIA Court during the period between 22 July 2017 (the end of the period covered in the previous batch of decisions) and 31 December 2022, bringing the total to 84. This set of LCIA challenge decisions contains the full text of all decisions, with only limited redactions necessary to preserve confidentiality. Challenge decisions since 2022 have not been included because they may relate to ongoing arbitrations. The decisions are numbered from 1 to 24 and are published on the website both as single decisions and as a consolidated text, along with an accompanying commentary.

Challenge decisions form an invaluable resource for users, counsel, and arbitrators - they create a greater understanding of the reasoning applied by the LCIA Court in arbitrations proceeding pursuant to the LCIA Rules and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and provide guidance in relation to standards of conduct for future cases.

Challenges are a rare occurrence in LCIA arbitrations and successful challenges even more so. The LCIA's robust appointment process, where arbitrator disclosures are reviewed by the LCIA Court before appointment, results in fewer challenges based on potential conflicts. Any objections by the parties based on pre-appointment disclosures do not constitute formal "challenges" and are therefore not covered by this overview. The LCIA's challenge procedure, resulting in a reasoned decision by the LCIA Court, not only acts as a deterrent for frivolous challenges (as demonstrated by the limited number of challenges the LCIA receives) but also forms a crucial component of due process, enhancing the legitimacy of the arbitration process and the resulting award.

The publication of this batch of decisions brings the total of published challenge decisions by the LCIA Court to 84. While the availability of a thorough challenge procedure is an important safeguard supporting the legitimacy of the process, it is important that the mechanism is not abused. By providing reasons not only to the parties in individual cases but more generally, the LCIA supports the development of law and practice in this area. These decisions and their publication provide users with unprecedented insights in the grounds and procedures relating to arbitrator challenges. At the same time, the paucity of decisions in LCIA arbitrations is a testament to the robust nature of the LCIA's appointment process.

FULL COMMENTARY
CONSOLIDATED CHALLENGES
CHALLENGE DECISION DATABASE