Fast Arbitre ethical chart

ARTICLE 1. ACCREDITATION

In order to guarantee a high level of quality of the decisions rendered, FastArbitre commits to designate Arbitrators with a high level of competence for the disputes submitted to them.

As a result, can only apply to become Arbitrators on FastArbitre:

• law professors and lecturers,
• magistrates on availability leave or retired,
• lawyers or retired lawyers,
• general counsels or former general counsels,
• in-house lawyers or former in-house lawyers,

Once they cumulatively:

• Have at least eight years of professional experience in the legal and / or judicial field;
• Justify specific qualifications in arbitration,
• Have not faced a final criminal conviction or a civil conviction that may have an impact on arbitral practice,
• Have not faced a disciplinary conviction for a reason that may have an impact on arbitral practice,
• Have sufficient computer skills to be able to use professionnally the arbitration platform,
• Are able to provide a professional liability insurance policy contract covering the activity of arbitration.

Candidates submit their application to the Digital Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (DIAM), which decides on applications on a regular basis according to its needs and at least every two years.

To apply, candidates are required to submit a cover letter, a CV, as well as their criminal record, and indicate the field of specialty in which they would like to intervene as Arbitrator.

DIAM reserves the right to refuse accreditation or to issue it only for certain fields of specialty and may, if necessary, meet with the candidates in order to assess their level of knowledge.

Any new Arbitrator approved by DIAM committs to abiding to this Ethical Charter.

DIAM reserves the right to exclude an Arbitrator who has failed to report any known conflict of interest.

ARTICLE 2. ARBITRATOR’S ROLE

The Arbitrator is in a relationship of trust with the Parties, who have entrusted him with the task of resolving their dispute. He carries out his mission in good faith and personally.

The Arbitrator’s mission is contractual and of a judicial nature.

The Arbitrator shall decide upon the dispute by reference to the rules of law or in equity if the Parties have entrusted him with the role of amiable compositor.

The Arbitrator resolves the dispute all the while applying the fundamental guarantees of good justice. The Arbitrator may at any time reconcile the Parties.

ARTICLE 3. SKILL, AVAILABILITY AND DILIGENCE

An Arbitrator shall only accept the assignment offered to him / her if he or she has the necessary legal and / or technical skills in relation to the dispute and has ensured that he / she is available to arbitrate the dispute within a reasonable time with regards to the circumstances and complexity of the dispute.

The Arbitrator shall guarantee the proper conduct of the arbitral proceedings. The Arbitrator shall act expeditiously throughout the performance of his duties, including to promote the expeditiousness of the arbitral proceedings, while ensuring that the costs of the arbitration are not increased excessively with regard to the interests at stake.

The Parties shall also act in good faith and with due diligence, avoiding any abusive or dilatory maneuver in order to delay or disrupt the proceedings.

ARTICLE 4. INDEPENDENCE ET IMPARTIALITY

An Arbitrator shall accept the offered mission only if he or she is both independent and impartial towards the Parties, except where the latter are informed of the elements putting into doubt the independence or impartiality of the arbitrator, but nevertheless agree to allow his appointment.

An Arbitrator shall immediately disclose to all the Parties all the elements that could cast doubt on his independence or impartiality. If such elements appear during the arbitral proceedings, the arbitrator must also disclose them without delay.

The independence of the Arbitrator is defined as the disclosure of any past or present direct or indirect personal or business relationship between the Arbitrator or a third party closely related to him or her, whether personally or professionally, and either or both of the parties, their representatives or co-Arbitrators, or any person closely related to one of the Parties, their representatives or the Co-Arbitrators.

The impartiality of the Arbitrator is defined as the lack of a bias towards the claims of the Parties, equal treatment of the Parties and independence of mind, particularly with regard to external pressures.

In no event shall the Arbitrator or the Arbitral Tribunal be subject to any direct or indirect influence or pressures.

ARTICLE 5. ADVERSARIAL PRINCIPLE

Once the Arbitrator or the Arbitral Tribunal is seized of the case, he may not communicate with any of the Parties, on his own initiative or that of the Party, on a matter concerning the merits of the dispute, unless he informs the other Parties or requests that the Party inform the other Parties and, where appropriate, the other Arbitrators of the existence and content of such communication.

In the event of a written communication, a copy shall be sent to the other Parties and, where applicable, to the other members of the Arbitral Tribunal.

Non-adversarial communications are nevertheless possible in the context of ex parte proceedings to obtain interim or conservatory measures.

ARTICLE 6. CONFIDENTIALITY

Any information relating to an arbitration is confidential, subject to contrary stipulations by the Parties, legal and regulatory obligations, or in the strict framework of judicial proceedings related to the arbitration.

The Arbitrator shall in no way use any information which he has had access to in the course of the proceedings for a foreign purpose, either for personal gain or for the benefit of a third party, or to prejudice anyone.

In particular, unless the arbitrator considers that the arbitration procedure has been fraudulent or in the case of a legal or regulatory obligation, the Arbitrator may not take part directly or indirectly in any arbitration proceedings.

The Arbitrator is bound by the principle of deliberation secrecy. He shall not disclose to any person any matter concerning the discussions, guidance or decisions of the arbitral tribunal.

The Arbitrator or the Party shall not disclose to any third party, except in the execution of its mission or if the third party is involved in the course of the proceedings, the existence or the content of the dispute and of the arbitral proceedings. Informed third parties are bound by the same obligation.