Eligibility to Act as an Arbitrator - Chapter 4 - Arbitration Law of Czech Republic: Practice and Procedure
Alexander J. Bělohlávek, Univ. Professor, Dr.iur., Mgr., Dipl. Ing. oec/MB, Dr.h.c. Lawyer admitted and practising in Prague/CZE (Branch N.J./US), Senior Partner of the Law Offices Bělohlávek, Dept. of Law, Faculty of Economics, Ostrava, CZE, Dept. of Int. and European Law, Faculty of Law, Masaryk University, Brno, CZE (visiting), Chairman of the Commission on Arbitration ICC National Committee CZE, Arbitrator in Prague, Vienna, Kiev etc. Member of ASA, DIS, Austrian Arb. Association. The President of the WJA – the World Jurist Association, Washington D.C./USA.
Originally from: Arbitration Law of Czech Republic: Practice and Procedure
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4.I. SCOPE AND REVIEW OF THE ELIGIBILITY OF ARBITRATOR
4.I.1. Temporal scope of the eligibility of an arbitrator
Section 4 of the ArbAct sets forth the eligibility criteria for arbitrators. The eligibility criteria for arbitrators must be preserved throughout the proceedings, as they are not4. requirements for the appointment of arbitrator but for the exercise of the arbitrator’s duties. Despite the fact that the arbitral proceedings only end at the moment the arbitral award becomes final and conclusive [Section 23(a) of the ArbAct], or at the moment the resolution terminating the proceedings is served on the parties [Section 23(b) of the ArbAct],5 it is necessary to limit the requirement of the arbitrators’ eligibility by the issuance of the arbitral award, not the end of the proceedings. This typically applies where the arbitral award is subject to review by other arbitrators (Section 27 of the ArbAct). In such case, it would be unreasonable to insist that the arbitrator must also fulfill the requirements throughout the review proceedings, even though the arbitral proceedings end only after the arbitral award becomes final and conclusive or after the resolution terminating the proceedings is served on the parties. For instance, this may apply if the arbitrator dies after he or she issues the arbitral award, i.e. the requirements for the issuance of the arbitral award pursuant to Section 25 of the ArbAct were fulfilled irrespective of the fact whether the award became final and conclusive or not.