LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Kęstutis Švirinas, Ieva Rimavičienė, Domantė Lunytė and Luka Tamulionytė, Sorainen
When exercising this authority, the court must con- sider: • the nature and complexity of the dispute; • any qualifications or criteria for arbitrators agreed upon by the parties; and • factors ensuring the independence and impartiality of the arbitrator(s), as required under Article 14 (7) of the Law on Commercial Arbitration. Importantly, decisions made by the Vilnius Regional Court on these matters are final and not subject to appeal (Article 14 (8) of the Law on Commercial Arbi- tration). This limitation reflects the court’s procedural role in facilitating arbitration rather than interfering with its substantive conduct. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators The grounds for challenging an arbitrator are set out in Article 15 (2) of the Law on Commercial Arbitration. An arbitrator may be challenged only if: • there are reasonable doubts regarding their inde- pendence or impartiality; or • the arbitrator does not meet the qualifications agreed upon by the parties. In Lithuanian arbitration practice and legal doctrine, the evaluation of an arbitrator’s impartiality and inde- pendence is frequently guided by the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, which serve as a persuasive reference point in assess- ing potential conflicts. The procedure for challenging an arbitrator is governed by Article 16 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration. Parties may agree on a specific procedure, includ- ing the right to appeal decisions on challenges. In the absence of such an agreement, a party must submit a written statement of reasons for the challenge within 15 days of becoming aware of the tribunal’s compo- sition or of the relevant circumstances. If the arbitra- tor does not withdraw and the other party does not consent to the challenge, the matter is decided by the remaining arbitrators. Where the tribunal consists of a sole arbitrator or where all arbitrators are challenged, the decision is made by the arbitrator(s) themselves.
If the challenge is rejected, the challenging party may, within 20 days, request the Vilnius Regional Court to issue a ruling. The court’s decision is final and not subject to appeal. While the challenge is pending, the arbitral tribunal, including the challenged arbitrator, may continue the proceedings and render an award. 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements Under Article 15 (1) of the Law on Commercial Arbitra- tion, any individual approached regarding a potential appointment as an arbitrator is required to disclose, prior to accepting the appointment, any circumstanc- es that may give rise to reasonable doubts concern- ing their independence or impartiality. This obligation extends throughout the arbitration proceedings: if such circumstances arise or become known after the appointment, the arbitrator must promptly disclose them to the parties, the permanent arbitration institu- tion, the Vilnius Regional Court, or any other entity designated by the parties or applicable arbitration rules. Similar rules are provided in Article 18 of the VCCA Rules. Specifically, when a person is approached regarding their possible appointment as an arbitrator, they must, prior to accepting the role, disclose in writ- ing all circumstances that could give rise to reason- able doubts about their independence or impartiality. An arbitrator is also required to disclose such circum- stances after their appointment or during the arbitral proceedings, if the disclosure was not made earlier or if the circumstances arose after the appointment or during the proceedings. These disclosure requirements are designed to ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of the arbitral process, aligning with international standards and best practices.
5. Preliminary and Interim Relief 5.1 Types of Relief
Under the Law on Commercial Arbitration, arbitral tri- bunals seated in Lithuania are empowered to grant interim measures and issue preliminary orders (Arti- cles 20 and 21 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration). Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral
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