The impact of Human Rights, more particularly the European Convention on Human Rights, on arbitral proceedings is increasingly important. Thus, Article 6 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights is applicable in the context of compulsory arbitration (arbitration imposed on the parties by law) and in court proceedings related to arbitration, notably setting aside proceedings.
A more difficult question is whether this provision applies in the proceedings before the arbitrators themselves. This article concludes that it does.
A distinct ? and also controversial ? issue is whether the States that have adhered to the Convention should enact specific rules in order to ensure that the arbitration process will respect the guarantees of Article 6 (1). In particular, should States provide for judicial review of the award in order to effectively ensure Convention rights? This question has a direct impact on the possibility to waive in advance any application to set aside the arbitral award (Art. 192 PIL Act). The author concludes that a clearcut answer is not possible and that the test is whether the exclusion of any application to set aside the award is ?arbitrary or unreasonable?.
The author also addresses the question of the grounds (reasons) for the award (§ 21) and the alleged disqualification of an arbitral tribunal based on article 6 (1) of the European Convention on the ground that the arbitrators examined issues disputed on the merits in the context of a request for interim measures and would hence be biased (§ 29).
In the conclusion, the article stresses that the scope of Article 6 (1) may be very broad and that this provision can no longer be ignored by arbitration practitioners.
ASA Bulletin