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Spanish Supreme Court upholds conviction of Sulu v Malaysia arbitrator for serious disobedience after annulment of appointment, affirming court supervision of arbitral mandates and criminal exposure

Published on: 09 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert
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Gonzalo SC v Estado Soberano de Malasia STS 4353/2025 - ECLI:ES:TS:2025:4353

What are the practical implications of the case?

This ruling carries significant practical consequences for arbitrators and arbitration practitioners. It cautions that an arbitral mandate is not a shield from accountability. The Supreme Court clarifies that arbitral autonomy ends where court authority begins in areas allocated by law, such as appointing or removing arbitrators. It also reiterates that arbitration does not operate in a legal void: a tribunal’s authority is tethered to the legal order of the seat, whose courts oversee the continuing validity of an arbitrator’s mandate. Even if a judicial ruling affecting that mandate seems wrong or open to debate, an arbitrator cannot simply set it aside. In this dispute, the Sole Arbitrator maintained that he was duty-bound to continue once appointed and after issuing a preliminary award on jurisdiction, contending that Article 7 of the Spanish Arbitration Act insulated the arbitration from court interference...

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