NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

134 NEWSLETTER 2019 The third part gives guidance to arbitrators concerning their availability, impartiality and independence. This is followed by ex- planations and/or information regarding the conduct of participants in the arbitration, emergency arbitrators, conduct of the arbitration, expedited procedure provisions, efficiency in the submission of draft awards to the Court, closing of the proceedings, and scrutiny of awards, treaty-based arbitrations, Tribunal’s fees and administrative expenses, as well as decisions as to the costs of the arbitration, correction and interpretation of awards. Updates This article examines the most important five changes which are highlighted by the ICC. Disclosures by Arbitrators and Prospective Arbitrations Section A of Part III of the Note gives guidance to arbitrators and prospective arbitrators in relation to the Statement of Acceptance, Availability, Impartiality and Independence (“Statement”) that they must sign. The arbitrator’s duty to be and remain impartial and independence is of crucial importance in arbitrations. Therefore, an arbitrator’s duty of disclosure and what this duty encompasses has been discussed and reviewed thoroughly. The Note exemplifies certain instances where the arbitrator should inform the parties of certain facts. With the update, the scope of such disclosure has been widened to include parties that have an interest in the outcome of the proceedings, but whom are not parties to the case. According to new paragraph 24, in assessing whether a disclosure should be made, an arbitrator or prospective arbitrator should consider relationships with non-parties that have an interest in the outcome of the arbitration. The same paragraph states that the Secretariat may assist the arbi- trator or prospective arbitrator in identifying ‘relevant entities’; how- ever, such an indication does not release an arbitrator or prospective arbitrator from his/her duty to disclose with respect to other relevant entities.