GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: John Dryllerakis, Claire Sergaki and Vasileios Plakoulas, Dryllerakis Law Firm
• In the case of a three-member tribunal, each party may appoint one arbitrator, and the two party- appointed arbitrators shall select the president of the tribunal. If a party fails to appoint an arbitra - tor or the selected arbitrators fail to appoint the president, then the civil single-member court of first instance shall proceed with the appointment following a request of any of the parties. • In the case of a one-member tribunal, the arbitrator shall be appointed upon request of a party to the competent civil court. In the case of a multiparty arbitration, the claimants or the respondents shall jointly appoint one arbitrator as per Article 16 of Law 5016/2023. Should they fail to do so, the relevant appointment shall be made by the civil single-member court of first instance. Lastly, if for any reason an arbitral tribunal has not been appointed within 90 days of the submission of the request for arbitration, the civil single-member court of first instance may appoint all the members of the tribunal following a party’s relevant request. 4.3 Court Intervention The civil single-member court of first instance located in the region of the seat of the arbitration or in the dis - trict where the applicant is domiciled is competent for the appointment, removal or replacement of arbitra - tors. If the applicant has no domicile in Greece, juris - diction is conferred on the civil single-member court of first instance of Athens. When appointing an arbitrator, the civil single-member court of first instance must consider the qualifications specified in the parties’ agreement, ensure the arbi - trators’ independence and impartiality, and, in some instances, take into account the nationality of the par - ties involved. Lastly, all decisions issued by said court in the context of these proceedings are not subject to means of recourse. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators Article 18.2 of Law 5016/2023 sets out the grounds upon which to request a challenge of an arbitrator. A petition for the challenge of an arbitrator is valid where there are circumstances giving rise to reason - able doubts as to the impartiality or independence
of the arbitrator, or if the arbitrator lacks the qualities agreed necessary by the parties. An arbitrator may be challenged even by the party that appointed them if the grounds for challenge become known to said party after the appointment. Furthermore, Article 19 of the same law regulates the procedure to be followed in case of a petition for challenge, unless the parties had agreed in this regard or relevant rules of institutional arbitration apply. With respect to the removal/replacement of arbitra - tors, Article 20.1 of Law 5016/2023 provides that an arbitrator’s mandate is terminated if they become de jure or de facto unable to perform their functions or otherwise fail to act within a reasonable time. Any arbitrator removed from their duties as per the provisions of Article 19 or Article 20 is replaced in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 21 of Law 5016/2023. 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements Article 18 on the grounds of challenge of an arbitra - tor refers to “justifiable doubts of an arbitrator’s inde - pendence and impartiality”. The same holds for the rules of the principal arbitral institutions. Apart from the relevant case law, the updated IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration of the International Bar Association of 2024 provide useful guidance by listing specific circumstances (designat - ed under “Red”, “Orange” and “Green” Lists), with the aim of illustrating the General Standards, assist - ing arbitrators in making their disclosures and aiding parties in assessing whether disclosed information may be such as to create doubts with respect to the arbitrator’s independence and impartiality.
5. Jurisdiction 5.1 Challenges to Jurisdiction
Article 23.1.a of Law 5016/2023 explicitly provides for the competence-competence principle by stipulating that the arbitral tribunal shall rule on its jurisdiction and the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement.
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