An examination of various arbitration laws shows a range of treatment of the question of liability of arbitrators for negligence in the performance of their service under the arbitrator’s contract. Some laws are completely silent on the issue leaving it to the national courts to deal with, while some laws make express provisions for partial immunity from liability, and yet some other arbitration laws provide for arbitrator liability for professional negligence.
Such liability is not for ‘judging poorly’ but for ‘duties and obligations he owes in his ruling capacity’. The liability discussed here is both the liability of the institution itself and arbitrators, whether sitting under institutional rules or ad hoc.
This therefore means that that in jurisdictions where the arbitrator or institution does not enjoy any exclusion or limitation of liability, the disputing parties can seek a remedy against the arbitrator or institution for acts or omissions amounting to breaches of the arbitrator and institution’s contracts; while in jurisdictions where the arbitrator or institution enjoys full, partial or limited immunity from suit, the scope to sue the arbitrator or institution is limited to the extent of the protection provided to him by such laws.
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