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Designation of Appointing Authority

 

The UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules entrust to the Secretary-General of the PCA the role of designating an "appointing authority" upon request of a party to arbitration proceedings. Such a request may be made in the following situations:

 

Under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, 1976:

 

• in cases in which there is to be a sole arbitrator, and the parties have not reached agreement on the choice of that arbitrator within the prescribed period of time (Art. 6);

 

• in cases in which there are to be three arbitrators, and the respondent does not proceed within the prescribed period of time with the appointment of the arbitrator that the respondent is entitled to appoint (Art. 7, paras. 2 and 3), or the two party-appointed arbitrators do not agree on the choice of the presiding arbitrator within the prescribed period of time (Art. 7, para. 3);

 

• where the appointing authority agreed upon refuses to act or fails to appoint the arbitrator within the prescribed period of time (Art. 6, para. 2 or Art. 7, para. 2);

 

• in the event an arbitrator is challenged (Art. 12)

 

Under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, 2010: 

 

• in the event that the parties have not reached agreement on an appointing authority within 30 days following a proposal of one or more institutions or persons, one of whom would serve as appointing authority (Art. 6, para. 2); 

 

• except as referred to in Art. 41, para. 4(b), if the appointing authority refuses to act, or if the appointing authority fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days after receiving a party's request to do so, fails to act within any other period provided by the Rules, or fails to decide on a challenge to an arbitrator within a reasonable time after receiving a party's request to do so (Art. 6, para. 4).  

 

 

Procedure for Requesting the Designation of an Appointing Authority

 

Application 
Requests for designation of an appointing authority should be directed to:

 

The Secretary-General  Permanent Court of Arbitration Peace Palace Carnegieplein 2 2517 KJ  The Hague The Netherlands

Tel:  +31 70 302 4165 Fax: +31 70 302 4167 Email: bureau@pca-cpa.org

The request should be accompanied by:

 

1. A copy of the arbitration clause or agreement establishing the applicability of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules;
2. A copy of the Notice of Arbitration served upon the respondent, as well as the date of such service;
3. A copy of any response to the Notice of Arbitration;
4. An indication of the nationalities of the parties;
5. The names and nationalities of the arbitrators already appointed, if any;
6. The names of any institutions or persons that the parties had considered selecting as appointing authority but which have been rejected;
7. A power of attorney evidencing the authority of the person making the request; and
8. Payment of the non-refundable administrative fee.

 

Administrative fee

The non-refundable administrative fee for the analysis of a request for the designation of an appointing authority by the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration is €750, which includes the cost of the designation of an appointing authority if that is the next appropriate step.  The fee is required to be paid in advance and is non-refundable, and should be made to the PCA by bank transfer as follows:

 

Bank:	ING Bank N.V. Schenkkade 65 2595 AS  The Hague The Netherlands
Bank Identifier Code (BIC):	INGBNL2A
Account number:	67 80 88 438 (payments in euro)
IBAN:	NL31 INGB 0678 0884 38
Beneficiary:	Permanent Court of Arbitration

 

or by cheque, payable to:

 

Permanent Court of Arbitration Peace Palace Carnegieplein 2 2517 KJ  The Hague The Netherlands

Please mention the UNCITRAL arbitration case and the party for whom the payment is made as a payment reference on your bank transfer, or in the accompanying letter with your cheque.