LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Emilie Waty and Kloris Vjerdha, KLEYR_GRASSO
4.2 Default Procedures The parties to an arbitration may designate the arbitra - tors directly or by reference to an arbitration institu - tion’s procedural rules or regulations that govern the appointment process. Likewise, the parties are free to determine the number of arbitrators. In the absence of such an agreement, however, the Luxembourg Arbitration Law provides that the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of a panel of three arbitrators. In particular, Article 1228-4 of the NCCP outlines four possible dispute scenarios with respect to the appointment of arbitrators. Firstly, where a sole arbitrator is to be appointed and the parties fail to reach an agreement on their identity, the appointment of the sole arbitrator shall be made by the person or authority that is responsible for the organisation of the arbitration or, failing that, by the supporting judge. Secondly, when a panel of three arbitrators is to be appointed, each party shall proceed to designate one arbitrator, and the two appointed arbitrators shall jointly designate the third arbitrator. Should a party fail to appoint an arbitrator within one month, or if the two appointed arbitrators fail to designate the presid - ing arbitrator within one month, the appointment shall be made by the authority overseeing the arbitration proceedings or, in the absence thereof, by the sup - porting judge. Thirdly, in cases involving more than two parties, where the parties fail to agree on the composition of the arbitral tribunal, the appointment shall be made by the authority responsible for administering the arbitra - tion or, in the absence of such authority, by the sup - porting judge. Finally, any other disputes regarding the appointment of the arbitral tribunal shall be resolved by the authority responsible for administering the arbitration or, in the absence of such authority, by the supporting judge.
enshrined in Article 1227-2 of the NCCP. Pursuant to this principle, an arbitration clause is deemed to constitute an autonomous agreement, distinct and independent from the underlying contract in which it is embedded. Settled case law has confirmed this approach, recog - nising that an arbitration agreement is separate from the primary contract and may be subject to different governing rules. Consequently, the validity of the arbitration clause remains unaffected by any finding of nullity, voidness or rescission of the principal contract, thus safeguard - ing the arbitral tribunal’s competence to rule on its own jurisdiction as well as preventing dilatory tactics. It is also pertinent to point out that this principle finds additional confirmation in Article 5 (4) of the LAC Rules, which expressly empowers the arbitral tribunal to uphold the validity and enforceability of the arbitra - tion agreement regardless of any allegation that the underlying contract is non-existent, null and void, or otherwise invalid. There are no specific limitations on the parties’ autonomy to appoint arbitrators, provided that the designated arbitrators are natural persons who are not deprived of their civil rights. In instances where a legal person is designated as an arbitrator, it only has the power to appoint a natural person to carry out the arbitral mandate. In this regard, there are no requirements regarding the arbitrator’s qualifications nor any necessity for a specific licence, educational background or prior experience. It should be noted in this respect that where the par - ties have elected to refer their dispute before the LAC, Article 10.8 of the LAC Rules provides that the Council is to appoint arbitrators having regard to the nature of the dispute, the applicable law and the language of the procedure. 4. The Arbitral Tribunal 4.1 Limits on Selection
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