Originally from the ICDR Handbook on International Arbitration Practice - Second Edition

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I.    Introduction

Parties to international disputes use arbitration because they see it as an alternative to an unreliable judicial system, or because they think it is faster than litigation or affords privacy, or for a combination of these reasons. The role of arbitrators in resolving disputes is quasi-judicial. Accordingly, arbitrators should be subject to stringent standards of conduct to guarantee their integrity and impartiality, and the transparency of the arbitral proceedings. It is due to these standards that arbitrators are required to disclose actual and potential conflicts of interest that could indicate that their decision might not be made impartially and independently of the influence of any party. This chapter discusses the qualifications and conflict-of-interest disclosure standards for arbitrators in three broad categories of international arbitration:

(1)    international commercial arbitration between private parties or a private party and a quasi-governmental entity; 
(2)    international investment arbitration between a foreign investor and the sovereign State where the investment is made or between the State parties to the treaty; and
(3)    international trade arbitration between States arising from violations of international trade agreements prohibiting restraint of trade.