LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Emilie Waty and Kloris Vjerdha, KLEYR_GRASSO
4.5 Arbitrator Requirements As provided under the Luxembourg Arbitration Law, arbitrators are required to maintain independence and impartiality throughout the proceedings. Accordingly, any behaviour that may raise legitimate doubts as to the arbitrator’s impartiality and/or independence may constitute valid grounds for the designated arbitra - tor’s recusal. The LAC Rules, that are applicable in disputes submit - ted before the relevant institution, offer further clarifi - cations detailing the specific requirement concerning the independence and impartiality of the arbitrators. Specifically, Article 10.10 of the LAC Rules provides that before their appointment, prospective arbitrators shall: • sign a statement of acceptance, availability, impar - tiality and independence; • disclose in writing to the secretariat any facts or circumstances which might be of such nature as to call into question the arbitrator’s independence in the eyes of the parties; and • any circumstances that could give rise to reason - able doubts as to the arbitrator’s impartiality. Further, in case a circumstance arises in the course of the arbitration proceedings that is of such nature as to put into question the arbitrator’s impartiality and/ or independence, the arbitrator shall inform the sec - retariat in writing in due course. The Luxembourg Arbitration Law recognises the prin - ciple of competence-competence in Article 1227-2 of the NCCP pursuant to which the arbitral tribunal is empowered to decide on its own jurisdiction, includ - ing any challenges with respect to the existence and/ or validity of the arbitration agreement. 5.2 Circumstances for Court Intervention State courts refrain from addressing issues of jurisdic - tion of an arbitral tribunal, acknowledging that such intervention would go beyond their judicial powers. 5. Jurisdiction 5.1 Challenges to Jurisdiction
tion proceedings with the aim of facilitating the overall arbitration process. For instance, where the parties are unable to agree on the appointment of arbitrators and in the absence of an administering authority, it falls within the com - petence of the supporting judge to do so in order to enable the proceedings to resume. Moreover, in cases where the arbitration agreement is deemed null and void due to the non-arbitrable nature of the dispute or for any other reason the arbitration agreement is manifestly null and/or inapplicable, the supporting judge shall issue a decision declaring that no appointment of arbitrators shall be made. This decision is however subject to an appeal. As such, the intervention of the supporting judge is reserved solely for instances where it is necessary in order to ensure the continuation of the arbitration proceedings. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators Prior to accepting their mandate, arbitrators must disclose in a timely manner, any circumstances likely to raise legitimate doubts regarding their impartiality and/or independence. Similarly, the designated arbi - trators are required to promptly notify the parties of any such circumstances that may arise subsequent to their appointment. Under Article 1228-7 of the NCCP, an arbitrator may only be challenged and ultimately be recused in cases where their impartiality and/or independence is put into question or where the parties establish that the arbitrator does not meet the necessary qualification requirements set by the parties to the proceedings. Article 1228-8 of the NCCP provides that the recusal of an arbitrator shall be carried out following the unan - imous agreement of the parties. Where such unanim - ity cannot be reached, the recusal of the arbitrator in question shall be determined by the administrative authority, or in the absence thereof, the supporting judge who shall be seized within one month from the discovery of the litigious facts.
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