A Study of International Arbitrators' Substantive Ethical Obligations and Chinese Strategies

The increased complexity and scales of international arbitration cases require a larger roster of righteous and experienced international arbitrators. The difficulty to define ethics or ethical obligation in the area of international arbitration has caused increased discussion and confusion. As a result,the tendency towards codification of ethical obligations would provide a more precise and practical mean to regulate arbitrators' behavior. The legal sources of ethical obligations of international arbitrators contain international conventions,national laws,arbitral institutions' rules as well as institutional codes of ethics. The main substantive ethical obligations include disclosing,investigating,conducting the arbitration in accordance with the arbitration agreement,maintaining confidentiality,being competent and diligent. Chinese authorities and foreign-related arbitral institutions should enhance the codification and uniformity of the international arbitrators' ethical obligations. The relevant strategies for revising the Arbitration Lawand arbitrators' ethical codes,unifying the foreign-related arbitration institution ethical rules and joining the harmonious progress of international arbitration should be considered correspondingly.