Independence of party-appointed arbitrators

Diplomsko delo obravnava tematiko neodvisnosti arbitrov, ki so jih izbrale stranke. Najprej so predstavljene osnovne teme, kot so pojem neodvisnosti, načini postavitve arbitrov, število arbitrov v tribunalu, ter vloga arbitra, ki ga je izbrala stranka v arbitražnem postopku. Le te služijo kot vsebinski uvod za osrednjo problematiko tega dela. Nato sledi obravnava specifike razmerja med arbitrom in stranko, kjer je pojasnjena razlika s sodniško funkcijo ter s kakšnimi problemi se lahko soočamo zaradi same vsebine takšnega razmerja. Arbitri, ki sodelujejo v postopku morajo biti ves čas nepristranski in neodvisni. V primeru, ko arbiter, ki ni neodvisen ni pravočasno izločen iz postopka je pa to lahko tudi podlaga za izpodbijanje arbitražne odločbe. Obravnavani so tudi poskusi omejitve sodelovanja odvisnih in pristranskih arbitrov. Tako se predstavijo Smernice IBA, ki pomenijo sistematično sestavljeno orodje, ki je namenjeno zmanjševanju možnosti, da je odvisen ali pristranski arbiter prisoten v postopku. Hkrati pa so v pomoč tistim, ki odločajo o potencialni izločitvi arbitra. Predstavljeno je tudi nekaj primerov arbitražne prakse s katerimi se skuša prikazati, da pomanjkanje konkretnejših standardov glede ocenjevanja neodvisnosti in nepristranskosti lahko pripelje do nasprotujočih si odločb o izločitvi arbitra.Subject of this thesis is independence of party-appointed arbitrators. In the very beginning thesis deals with several elementary topics – concept of independence of arbitrator, appointment of arbitrators, number of arbitrators in the arbitral tribunal, and role of a party-appointed arbitrator in the arbitral proceedings. Aforementioned topics serve as an introduction into core issues the thesis is dealing with. Core issues of the thesis are firstly tackled by addressing specifics of the relationship between an arbitrator and a party and illustrate the differences between a role of an arbitrator and a role of a judge. Arbitrators participating in the arbitral proceedings must remain impartial and independent for the entire duration of the arbitration. If, however, a biased arbitrator is not removed from his position in due time, this might constitute grounds for a challenge of the final award. Furthermore, attempts at limiting the participation of biased arbitrators are analysed as well. Namely, IBA Guidelines represent a systematic tool created to limit the possibilities of participation of biased arbitrators. Moreover, IBA Guidelines also assist in decisions regarding the challenge of an arbitrator. Additionally, thesis presents certain cases from arbitration practice in attempt to demonstrate that lack of specific standards for evaluation of impartiality and independence may lead to contradicting decisions on challenges of arbitrators