Due process paranoia is one of arbitration’s ‘hot topics’, but does it merit the heat? This article takes a view of the sources of and supposed justifications for due process paranoia in those (fortunately rare) cases where parties or counsel try to rig the arbitral process. It looks at who might be to blame for the reluctance of arbitrators to take measures to combat such activity, and considers some of the solutions that have been proposed to help deal with it. Overall, the authors suggest that all arbitration stakeholders are to a certain extent to blame, although arbitrators perhaps have the most work to do. It is therefore fortunate that they have the wide support of domestic judges and the arbitral institutions, as well as a substantial toolbox at their disposal with which to combat recalcitrant or bad faith parties.
Journal of International Arbitration