Who is arbitrator? 05 things you know about arbitrators in Vietnam

Who is arbitrator? 05 things you know about arbitrators in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Who is arbitrator?

According to Clause 5, Article 3 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, Arbitrator means a person selected by the parties or designated by an arbitration center or a court to settle a dispute under the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010.

2. Criteria of arbitrators in Vietnam

According to Clause 1, Article 20 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, a person who satisfies all the following criteria may act as arbitrator:

(i) Having the full civil act capacity under the Civil Code;

(ii) Possessing a university degree and having at least 5 years* work experience in the trained discipline:

(iii) In special cases, an expert who has high professional qualifications and much practical experience, though not satisfying the requirement specified at item (ii) may also be selected as arbitrator.

In addition, arbitration centers may set criteria for their arbitrators which are higher than arbitrators.

3. Cases ineligible to act as abitrators in Vietnam

Persons who satisfy all the conditions specified in Section 2 but fall into either of the following cases may not act as arbitrators:

- Incumbent judges, procurators, investigators, enforcement officers or civil servants of peoples courts, peoples procuracies, investigative agencies or judgment enforcement agencies:

- The accused, defendants, persons serving criminal sentences or having served the sentences but having their criminal records not yet remitted.

(Clause 2, Article 20 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010)

4. Rights and obligations of arbitrators in Vietnam

Article 21 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010 stipulates the rights and obligations of arbitrators as follows:

- To accept or refuse to settle disputes.

- To be independent in dispute settlement.

- To refuse to provide dispute-related information.

- To enjoy remuneration.

- To keep secret the circumstances of disputes they settle, unless they have to provide information to competent state agencies under law.

- To ensure impartial, fast and prompt settlement of disputes.

- To adhere to the rules of professional ethics.

5. Violations agaisnt regulations on acting as abitrators in Vietnam

If the arbitrator commits violations in his arbitration activities, he may be administratively sanctioned according to Article 27 of Decree 82/2020/ND-CP, specifically as follows:

- A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts:

+ Dispute resolution if the arbitrator is a relative or representative of one of the parties to the dispute;

+ Dispute resolution when the arbitrator has a conflict of interest in the dispute;

+ Dispute settlement is permitted in cases where the arbitrator was already a mediator, representative, or lawyer of one of the parties before bringing the dispute to arbitration, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. written;

+ Dispute settlement when there are clear grounds to show that the arbitrator is not impartial and objective.

- A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts:

 + Revealing the content of the dispute that he or she settles, except in cases where it is required to provide information to a competent agency as prescribed by law;

+ Commercial arbitration activities in which the criteria and conditions for acting as arbitrators are not met.

- Remedial measures:

Being forced to return illegal profits obtained from violating the preceding provisions

Thanh Rin

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