Should Arbitrators Have The Power To Disqualify Or Sanction Attorneys (Not Parties)? Discuss Potential Advantages And Problems With Such A Power
Niharika Bodla, BBA LLB, LLM., Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT
Legal culture and standard of ethics vary with different modes of practice to achieve a common purpose and that is to render justice. The paper narrows down to focusing on the practice of arbitration in the international domain and its application of ethical standards on professional misconduct by attorneys. The concept of “fairness” is often the most debated and demanded one, in the practice of international commercial arbitration1. It is a mandate to treat all the parties with equality by the UNCITRAL Model Law2 and is also a fundamental duty of the tribunal. The author in this paper shall discuss the conflict of rights between the right to “fairness” and the right to choose one’s own counsel, under the prism of professional misconduct. The author shall shed light on the grey aspects associated with the grant of power to arbitrators to exclude or sanction or disqualify an attorney for professional misconduct and a comparative study of the existing jurisprudence in India, Singapore, US and UK.
