Towards a Uniform Standard of Rules 5 and 6 of the IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration

The rules applicable to arbitration of both hard and soft law share the importance of the independence and impartiality of the arbitrator. A particular treatment of a type of conflict of interest that may occur during the arbitration procedure is that regulated by Rules 5 and 6 of the IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration (2013), referring to a modification in the team of representatives or legal advisors of one of the parties that causes a conflict of interest in one of the arbitrators that seriously questions his independence or impartiality, and that consequently opens the door to his possible disqualification, and to the need to protect the integrity of the arbitration procedure by the arbitrators. In this paper, we analyze if the standards provided in Rules 5 and 6 to resolve the conflict of interest between lawyers and arbitrators have received a favorable response within the arbitration community. And if so, whether an international consensus can be achieved that can serve as a model for a future Code of Ethics at a truly transnational level.