Issues on Challenge to Arbitrators in Taiwan

Abstract

Taiwan has a civil law system, so there are codified civil procedure and arbitration provisions. The Arbitration Law provides that the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) is to be applied. There are obvious practical problems if the CCP principles are applied directly in the case of challenged arbitrators. Three possibilities have been suggested to resolve the foregoing problems: tribunal should appoint a new arbitrator; have the remaining arbitrators serve as the panel to decide the withdrawal; and have the original panel decide on the withdrawal. Article 13 of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration provides that the parties are free to agree on a procedure for challenging an arbitrator, and unless the challenged arbitrator withdraws from his office or the other party agrees to the challenge, the arbitral tribunal shall decide on the challenge. Keywords: arbitration law; civil law system; Code of Civil Procedure; Taiwan; UNCITRAL