GEORGIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Lasha Nodia, Giorgi Kekenadze and Ani Akophashvili, Nodia, Urumashvili and Partners
4.2 Default Procedures In the event that the procedure selected by the parties cannot succeed, an arbitrator is not selected, or vari - ous circumstances prevent the appointment, parties are authorised to apply to the courts with a request for appointment of an arbitrator. In such cases, parties are usually expected to present the candidates and their consents to the court for review and approval by the court. As for multiparty arbitration, the Law of Georgia on Arbitration does not prescribe any specific provisions that would govern the constitution of the arbitral tri - bunal in such cases. 4.3 Court Intervention The Law of Georgia in Arbitration prescribes that the court can only intervene in the selection of arbitrators when: • a party fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days after receiving a request to do so from the other party; • the two party-appointed arbitrators fail to agree on the appointment of the third arbitrator within 30 days of their appointment; or • the arbitration is to be conducted by a sole arbitra - tor and the parties fail to agree on the appointment of the arbitrator within 30 days following a request by one party to do so. In any of the above-mentioned scenarios, the court is authorised to appoint the arbitrators only upon the request of a party. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators The Law of Georgia on Arbitration establishes particu - lar provisions governing the challenge and removal of arbitrators. Specifically, a party to the arbitration has the right to challenge the arbitrator if: • an arbitrator does not qualify under the qualifica - tions agreed to by the parties; or • there are circumstances that may cause reason - able doubt about the arbitrator’s impartiality or independence.
(demanding clear and unambiguous consent) and its form. By way of example, in one case, the court of appeal invalidated an arbitration clause entered into online by a natural person. This decision was based on the Law of Georgia on Arbitration’s requirement that, when a natural person is a party to the agree - ment, the natural person must physically sign the doc - ument and on said law’s provision that the electronic execution of an arbitration clause is not permitted in such instances. 3.4 Validity Under the Law of Georgia on Arbitration, the sepa - rability of arbitration clauses is explicitly recognised. The Law of Georgia on Arbitration provides that an arbitration agreement may be concluded either as a clause within a contract or as a separate agreement. Furthermore, the law also stipulates that invalidity, termination or unenforceability of the main contract does not affect the validity of the arbitration clause contained therein. This ensures that the arbitration agreement remains effective and enforceable, even if the underlying contract is no longer valid. Arbitrators are selected in accordance with the par - ties’ agreement and as per the rules of the particular arbitration institute chosen by the parties. However, this autonomy is subject to certain limitations. Spe - cifically, under Georgian law, a person may not be appointed as an arbitrator if they: • have limited legal capacity or are beneficiaries of support, unless otherwise provided by a court judgment; • are state employees, state political officials, politi - cal officials, or public servants; • have an unexpunged or unvacated criminal convic - tion; or • have previously served as a mediator in the same dispute or in another case substantively related to the dispute in question. 4. The Arbitral Tribunal 4.1 Limits on Selection
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