Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

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When attending conferences and informal chats with
colleagues, it is very common to hear that “an arbitration is as
good as the arbitrator.” At the risk of over-simplification, this is a
fair general statement,1 and it is reasonable to consider it as a
fundamental principle of instituting a successful arbitration.
The following paragraphs elaborate on practical aspects of the
selection of an arbitrator, including the substantive elements
involved (namely the arbitrator’s qualifications and profile) and
the selection process.
This article does not aim to compile the different sets of
provisions established in the most widely used arbitration rules
governing the process of selection and appointment of an
arbitrator. However, the article references the procedure to
appoint an arbitrator under certain arbitration rules. Such
references only attempt to stress some critical aspects of the
selection of an arbitrator rather than being a mere description of
the arbitrator appointment procedure.
I will elaborate on two important aspects of that procedure.
First, many of the themes included in my analysis are taken
from personal experiences in international and domestic