Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
TABLE OF COMPARATIVE MARITIME ARBITRATION PROCEDURES
Michael Marks Cohen
Member, New York Bar; Partner in Messrs. Burlingham, Underwood and Lord, New York.
This table was prepared from some of the answers to a questionnaire which was circulated to participants of the Third International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators, held at Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy, from Apr. 27 to May 1, inclusive.
For purposes of easy comparison, the table has been constructed to indicate the state of practice generally, ignoring exceptions covering unusual situations. Moreover, it is assumed that in many, if not most instances, the parties have the capability to alter their rights and remedies by express provisions in the arbitration clause.
The complete answers to the questionnaire are available for ready reference as part of the Third Congress materials distributed by Lloyd’s of London Press Ltd.
Key to Informational Items
1 .a. If an arbitration clause does not expressly provide for the parties to appoint the arbitrators, who makes the appointment?
b. If a party is expressly authorised in the arbitration clause to appoint an arbitrator but fails to do so, and the clause contains no express remedy for such default, who makes the appointment?
2. Must the arbitrators belong to a particular organisation or be of a specific nationality and, if so, which?
3. Must a sole arbitrator, or the chairman of a tripartite panel, disclose possible grounds for his bias lest an award be set aside for his failure to do so?
4. a. Do the arbitrators have any power at all to determine the validity of the contract containing the arbitration clause ?
b. If so, do the arbitrators have conclusive power to determine the validity of the contract containing the arbitration clause?
5. May the parties be required to participate in conciliation proceedings prior to arbitration ?
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