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Universal Compression International Holdings v. Venezuela

Type of decisionDecision on the proposal to disqualify Prof. Brigitte Stern and Prof. Guido Santiago Tawil
Date of decision20 May 2011
Tribunal
Robert B. Zoellick (President)
Legal instrumentBIT between Spain and Venezuela (1995)
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Statements from this decision

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ICSID Convention
Replacement and Disqualification of Conciliators and Arbitrators (Articles 56-58)
Article 57
The fact that an arbitrator has faced similar factual or legal issues in other arbitrations is not sufficient for challenging him or her
Multiple appointments by the same counsel do not necessarily indicate a manifest lack of independence or impartiality of an arbitrator
The fact that an arbitrator and a counsel have acted as joint representatives in past disputes does not necessarily indicate a manifest lack of independence or impartiality, at least when the past dispute involved different parties and different fact patterns
The term "manifest" within the meaning of Article 57 ICSID Convention means "obvious" or "evident"
There is a heavy burden of proof on the party asserting a lack of impartiality or independence of an arbitrator
External texts, such as the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, can be a valuable source of inspiration, but not part of the legal basis of a disqualification decision
Without any further objective fact suggesting a lack of independence or impartiality, the fact that an arbitrator has been appointed multiple times is not sufficient for challenging him or her
ICSID Arbitration Rules
Rule 6
While an arbitrator's declaration should include details of prior appointments even in publicly available cases, an assessment whether the non-disclosure constitutes a manifest lack of independence or impartiality must take the public nature of the information into account

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