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08 November 2013 / Khawar Qureshi KC
Issue: 7583 / Categories: Features , Arbitration , Commercial
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Time for change? Pt 2

In the second of two leading articles, Khawar Qureshi QC puts ethics in international arbitration under the spotlight

The majority of arbitration decisions on ethical matters focus on the obligations of arbitrators. Key publicly available decisions are referred to below.

 

A    Arbitrators

ICSID decisions

In Alpha Projektholding GMBH v Ukraine ICSID Case No. ARB/07/16 (19 March 2010), the tribunal dismissed an application to disqualify an arbitrator based on his shared educational experience with counsel for the claimant and failure to disclose this, along with his purported lack of arbitral experience and a brief phone call by counsel for the claimant to the arbitrator to determine whether he would be available to serve. The two members found that the applicant had failed to prove any fact that would indicate a manifest lack of impartiality or independence on the part of the arbitrator.

In its decision, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Tribunal sought “guidance from the 2004 International Bar Association (IBA) Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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