Originally from Chamber of Arbitration of Milan Rules: A Commentary

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ARTICLE 16 – INCOMPATIBILITY

The following persons cannot be appointed as arbitrators:

a. members of the Board, members of the Arbitral Council and auditors of the Chamber of Arbitration;
b. employees of the Chamber of Arbitration;
c. professional partners, employees and all who have an ongoing cooperative professional relationship with the persons indicated at point a, unless the parties agreed otherwise.

1. Definition of Incompatibility

1.1. The term incompatibility refers to the unacceptable state in which one executes two or more offices contemporaneously. In other instances similar terms are used, such as ineligibility, which refers to the unacceptable state in which one is appointed to or holds a certain position independently of the contemporaneous exercise of another position. In each instance, in the context of this provision we are talking about roles and functions internal to or connected to the Chamber of Arbitration which do not permit one to act as an arbitrator in arbitration proceedings administered by the CAM.

1.2. Within this Article the term incompatibility, whilst being in a broad sense a conflict of interest, does not, however, correspond to nor has many points in common with the concepts of independence and impartiality: the member of the CAM could be completely independent, that is to say, not have any circumstance or fact connecting him/her to the parties in a particular dispute, and hypothetically could act in a manner of total impartiality towards the parties. Nevertheless, the objective condition of incompatibility does not allow him/her to be an arbitrator, even to be appointed as an arbitrator, and thereby play a double role, not even in the situation where the parties want to appoint him/her by mutual agreement as president of the arbitral tribunal.