Author: M. Scott Donahey**
Published: June 1993
| Topics: Arbitrators and Arbitral Tribunals UNCITRAL |
Description: A “truncated tribunal” is one that consists of three or more arbitrators, always an odd number, in which one of the arbitrators refuses to participate in all or part of the proceedings. When such a tribunal proceeds to issue an award, the validity of such an award has sometimes been challenged. Certain systems of arbitration rules expressly provide for the efficacy of the truncated tribunal and the validity of the awards issued thereby. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) Arbitration Rules do not cover this eventuality in any one provision. The question arises: do the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules permit the functioning of a truncated tribunal and recognize the validity of an award issued by such a tribunal?
*Notes & Comments
**The author is a partner at Holtzmann, Wise & Shepard, Palo Alto, California.