The arbitrator’s duty of impartiality and obligation to make disclosure in the wake of Halliburton v Chubb

A virtual conference presented by the IBA Arbitration Committee.

In the long-awaited decision of Halliburton v Chubb, dated 27 November 2020, the United Kingdom Supreme Court handed down a judgment of critical importance addressing an arbitrator's duty of impartiality and obligation to make disclosures when accepting multiple appointments in related arbitrations. This decision is significant in the area of international arbitration as it provides further clarity on the tricky issue of arbitrator disclosures and the relevant criteria to determine arbitrator challenges.

We will be holding two consecutive panels which will examine the topic of arbitrators' duty to disclose circumstances that would or might give rise to doubts as to an arbitrator's impartiality, including the acceptance of multiple appointments in overlapping arbitrations.

The panels will also discuss how an arbitrator's failure to disclose might be relevant to the assessment of apparent bias. Finally, the panels will also look at the types of tests that come into play to determine whether a challenge has merit in those circumstances, and will discuss circumstances in which insufficient disclosures may result in a successful challenge of the arbitrator.