Originally from Soft Law in International Arbitration, Second Edition

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2 Appointment and removal of a secretary

2.1  An arbitral tribunal may, after consulting with the parties, appoint or remove a secretary at any stage of the arbitration. The arbitral tribunal shall select an appropriate candidate at its own discretion taking into account the circumstances of the case.

2.2  Prior to his or her appointment, a proposed secretary shall (a) sign a declaration confirming his or her availability to assist the arbitral tribunal, and his or her impartiality and independence (the “Declaration”); and (b) disclose any circumstances likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her impartiality or independence. A blank form of the Declaration is attached.

2.3  Before appointing a secretary, an arbitral tribunal shall inform the parties of its proposal to do so. For this purpose, the arbitral tribunal shall disclose the identity of the proposed secretary and send to the parties the following documents for their comments, unless the parties agree otherwise:

(a) the proposed secretary’s curriculum vitae;

(b) the Declaration; and

(c) a copy of these Guidelines.

2.4  After receiving and considering the parties’ comments pursuant to paragraph 2.3, the arbitral tribunal may appoint the proposed secretary.

2.5  A member of the HKIAC Secretariat may be appointed as a tribunal secretary subject to confirmation regarding his or her availability, impartiality and independence in accordance with paragraph 2.2. Such Secretariat member shall not act as a case manager in the same arbitration.

2.6  The appointment of a tribunal secretary becomes effective at the time the notice of the appointment is received by all parties to the arbitration (excluding any additional parties added to the arbitration subsequently). The appointment of a tribunal secretary from the HKIAC Secretariat requires confirmation by HKIAC. The appointment of any other tribunal secretary does not require such confirmation.

2.7  Once a tribunal secretary is appointed, a party who intends to raise an objection with respect to the secretary’s impartiality or independence, shall send a notice of its objection within 15 days after the appointment of the secretary has been notified to the objecting party, or within 15 days after that party becomes aware or ought reasonably to have become aware of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 2.2(b).

2.8  The objection shall be notified to the arbitral tribunal, the tribunal secretary, HKIAC, and all other parties. The notification shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the objection.