URUGUAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Leonardo Melos, Bergstein Abogados
Any decision on these issues by the competent court will be final. When appointing an arbitrator, the competent court will take due account of the conditions required for an arbitrator by the agreement between the parties and take the necessary measures to guarantee the appointment of an independent and impartial arbi - trator. In the case of sole arbitrator proceedings, the court will also take into account the convenience of appointing an arbitrator of a nationality other than the parties’ nationality. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators A party that wishes to challenge an arbitrator must send a notification to the arbitral tribunal within 15 days following the day on which it becomes aware of the constitution of the arbitral tribunal or of any of the circumstances that give rise to the challenge. As stated in 4.1 Limits on Selection , challenges to arbi - trators may be based on the absence of impartiality or independence. An additional ground to challenge an arbitrator is the lack of qualifications that were agreed by the parties in the arbitration agreement or sepa - rate document. The challenge must state in writing the reasons for that challenge. Unless the challenged arbitrator resigns or the other party accepts the chal - lenge, it will be for the arbitral tribunal to decide on the challenge. If the challenge initiated is not successful because the arbitral tribunal rejects the request, the challeng - ing party may request the court to review that deci - sion within 30 days following the receipt of notification of the dcision. The court will have a maximum of 60 days to rule and its decision will be final. While that request is pending, the arbitral tribunal will suspend its proceedings, which will resume once the challenge is resolved or 60 days after its initiation. 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements Arbitrators are subject to the same independence and impartiality standards applicable to local judges (Article 485.3 of the CPC). Arbitrators are obliged to disclose any prior relationship (of any kind) maintained with any of the parties that could affect their impartial - ity. Although there is no statute or specific regulation in this respect, the International Bar Association (IBA)
Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration are a source of reference for scholarly opin - ions and rulings. For local arbitration, it is established that no judge or individual under the age of 25 can be appointed as an arbitrator.
5. Jurisdiction 5.1 Challenges to Jurisdiction
In Uruguay, the arbitral tribunal is entitled to rule on its own jurisdiction; the competence-competence princi - ple is consistently applied by local courts in interna - tional and local arbitration. According to Article 475.2 of the CPC, the arbitral tribunal is competent to rule on all matters related to the validity and effectiveness of the arbitration clause or agreement. According to Article 16 of the AICA, the arbitral tribunal is also empowered to decide on its own jurisdiction, includ - ing on objections relating to the existence or validity of the arbitration clause or agreement. A defence based on absence of jurisdiction must be filed jointly with the response to the complaint at the latest. The parties will not be prevented from filing an absence of jurisdiction defence owing to the fact that they have already appointed an arbitrator or par - ticipated in their appointment. An objection based on the argument that the arbitral tribunal has exceeded its mandate must be made as soon as the matter that allegedly exceeds its mandate arises during the arbi - tral proceedings. The arbitral tribunal may, in any case, examine an objection filed after the term elapses if it considers the delay to be justified. The arbitral tribunal may rule on the absence of jurisdiction defence as a preliminary procedural matter or in the final award. 5.2 Circumstances for Court Intervention If the arbitral tribunal decides that it has jurisdic - tion over the dispute, any of the parties – within 30 days following the notification of that decision – may request that the competent court reviews the matter within a maximum period of 60 days, and the decision of this court will be final. During that time, the arbitral tribunal may continue its proceedings and issue an award.
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