On Integrity in Private Judging

Abstract

> There are those among us who view arbitration primarily as a business. They are likely to concentrate more on self-interest than the interest of the profession.… We recognize that arbitrators are no less ambitious than other professionals; we recognize that many of us are dependent on arbitration fees for a livelihood. But self-serving instincts must always be subordinated to the need to uphold the integrity and honour of the profession.1 > > Deep below consciousness are other forces, the likes and the dislikes, the predilections and the prejudices, the complex of instincts and emotions and habits and convictions, which make the man, whether he be litigant or judge.2 If taken seriously, it can be an enormous responsibility to sit in judgment on the affairs of others. (For the moment, though, one sees no shortage of candidates for the job.) Certainly the motives that may lead someone to aspire to be an arbitrator are multiple and varied: there are of course the potential financial rewards – but also the opportunity to enhance one's education, one's familiarity with particular spheres of human endeavour, one's circle of contacts, or one's professional ‘profile’. For many, there may also be some sense of noblesse oblige or a desire to engage in public service. Nor should one neglect the pleasures of judging – it is, after all, a role for which every lawyer thinks himself admirably suited, and the object of the reveries of many. These are pleasures which may provide fertile soil for ‘a resurgence of omnipotence fantasies’ that once dominated our infancy.3 Certainly our received wisdom is that none of these motives should be allowed to work in such a way as to call into question the impartiality of the decision-maker. Whether for judicial officers or for arbitrators, our assumption is that methods …