Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Arbitrator definition

What does Arbitrator mean? The neutral decision-maker chosen by the parties to an arbitration to determine their dispute and issue a binding award. An arbitrator may act as a sole arbitrator or as one of a three-member arbitral tribunal (panel). Appointment is usually by the parties under the arbitration agreement or applicable institutional rules; failing agreement, a court or appointing authority may make the appointment. Key features include independence and impartiality, a continuing duty to disclose potential conflicts, and powers to set procedure, manage timetables, decide jurisdiction, take evidence and make procedural orders, subject to the arbitration agreement, the seat and any...

Choosing Arbitrators: Pre-Appointment Questions, Objective and Subjective Information Sources, and Managing Bias and Other Pitfalls

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note explores why and how collecting intelligence on prospective arbitrators is useful, and the purpose and value of doing so. It outlines the sorts of queries one might put to prospective nominees and explains the channels for assembling such material, including Arbitration questionnaires and repositories that aggregate Data on arbitrators. It sets out what to ask and how to ask it, from structured questionnaires to resources that collate profiles. It also addresses downsides—like confirmation bias—that can flow from employing pre-appointment questioning.

The information gap in appointing arbitrators

Arbitration conducted within tight sectoral circles or localities, and specific regions, has benefits. Participants know the pool of arbitrators. Most have a feel for their case-handling styles, the factors they find persuasive, and the arguments that resonate. Yet, as the field has grown, a shortage of information has emerged. Parties may be unfamiliar with arbitrators abroad; and, with caseloads rising, they may seldom meet even those they already know. A consequence is repeated appointments of the same well-known international arbitrators, producing issues around availability, delay from over-commitment, and reduced diversity.

Resources collecting information on arbitrators

Attempts to remedy this shortfall have followed two lines of collection to date, in practice: •...

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Ben Giaretta

Fox Williams LLP

Ben Giaretta is a Partner and the Co-Head of International Arbitration at Fox Williams LLP. He is the current Chair of the London Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is a Chartered Arbitrator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, and he is on the panels of arbitrators of several arbitration institutions, including the SCCA, SIAC and the HKIAC. He lectures on international arbitration at the University of Aberdeen and for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.His experience spans many industry sectors, including oil and gas, mining, petrochemicals, telecommunications, shipping, finance, insurance, construction, engineering and infrastructure. He has represented clients on disputes throughout the world, including Europe, Africa and the Americas, and particularly in Asia: he lived and worked in Singapore for seven years. He appears as counsel in...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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