Goto Main Content
:::

Chapter Law Content

CHAPTER II: Constitution of Arbitral Tribunal
Article 5
An arbitrator shall be a natural person.
In the event that a corporate entity or any other organization which is not an arbitration institution is appointed as an arbitrator in an arbitration agreement, it shall be deemed that no arbitrator was appointed.
Article 6
To act as an arbitrator, a person must possess legal or other professional knowledge or experience, a reputation for integrity and impartiality, and any of the following qualifications:
1.Service as a judge or public prosecutor;
2.Practice for more than five years as a lawyer, accountant, architect, mechanic or in any other commerce-related profession;
3.Act as an arbitrator of a domestic or foreign arbitration institution;
4.Teaching as an assistant professor or higher post in a domestic or foreign college certified or recognized by the Ministry of Education; and,
5.Specialist in a particular field or profession and has practiced for more than five years.
Article 7
A person falling into any of the following categories shall not be an arbitrator:
1. Where the person is convicted of a criminal offense for corruption or malfeasance;
2. Where the person is convicted of any offense other than those in the preceding category and sentenced to serve a prison term of one year or more;
3. Where the person is deprived of public rights, and the period of deprivation has not expired;
4. Where the person is announced bankrupt and has not recovered his/her property rights;
5. Where the person has become subject to the order of the commencement of guardianship or assistantship and the order has not been cancelled; or,
6. A minor.
Article 8
Any person qualified as an arbitrator under this Law, except for those who meet any of the following criterions, shall receive training and obtain a certificate before applying with an arbitration institution for being registered as an arbitrator:
1 Having served practically as a judge or prosecutor;
2.Having practiced as a lawyer for more than three (3) years;
3.Having taught with the department of law or graduate school of law of a domestic or foreign university or college accredited by the Ministry of Education as a professor for two (2) years, or as an associate professor for three (3) years, while teaching the major legal courses for more than three (3) years; and
4.Having been registered as an arbitrator in any arbitration institution prior to the effectiveness of amendment of this Law, and acted practically as an arbitrator in a dispute.
Calculation of teaching experience and definition of major legal courses under Subparagraph 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be jointly regulated by the Ministry of Justice and other relating governmental agencies.
Any arbitrator fails to apply for registration with an arbitration institution pursuant to Paragraph 1 shall be still subject to the training prescribed by this Law.
An arbitrator who has applied for registration with an arbitration institution shall participate in lectures held by the arbitration institution on an annual schedule; the arbitration institution may cancel the registration of an arbitrator who fails to participate in such lectures on schedule.
Guidelines of arbitrators' training and lecturing shall be jointly provided by the Executive Yuan and the Judicial Yuan.
Article 9
Where in the absence of an appointment of an arbitrator or a method of appointment in an arbitration agreement, each party shall appoint an arbitrator for itself. The appointed arbitrators shall then jointly designate a third arbitrator to be the chair and the arbitral tribunal shall notify the parties, in writing, of the final appointment.
If the arbitrators fail to agree on a chair within thirty days of their appointment, the final appointment shall be made by a court upon the application of any party.
Where an arbitration is to be conducted by a sole arbitrator and the parties fail to agree on an arbitrator within thirty days upon the receipt of the written request to appoint by any party, the appointment shall be made by a court pursuant to the application of any party.
In situations referred to in the preceding two paragraphs of this Article, the parties have agreed that the arbitration shall be administered by an arbitration institution, then the arbitrator shall be appointed by the arbitration institution.
Where there are numerous people in any party, and they are unable to agree on the appointment of an arbitrator, the appointment shall be made by a majority vote. In the event of a tie, the appointment shall be made by drawing lots.
Article 10
After choosing an arbitrator, a party shall notify in writing the other party as well as the appointed arbitrator. When an arbitrator is appointed by an arbitration institution, the institution shall likewise notify in writing both parties as well as the appointed arbitrator.
Once the written notice mentioned in the preceding paragraph of this Article has been received, the withdrawal or amendment of the written notice shall not be made without prior agreement of both parties.
Article 11
A party who has already appointed its own arbitrator may issue a written request to the other party to appoint its arbitrator within fourteen days after receipt of the request.
Where the arbitrator is to be appointed by an arbitration institution, either party to the dispute may request the arbitration institution to appoint an arbitrator within the same time period specified in the preceding paragraph of this Article.
Article 12
Where the arbitrator has not been appointed within the time period specified in the first paragraph of the preceding Article, the requesting party may apply to an arbitration institution or the court to make the appointment.
Where the arbitrator has not been appointed within the time period specified in the second paragraph of the preceding Article, the requesting party may apply to the court to make the appointment.
Article 13
An arbitrator appointed in an arbitration agreement may be replaced if such arbitrator becomes unable to perform as a result of death or any other cause, or refuses to conduct the arbitration, or [unreasonably] delays the performance of arbitration. In the event that the parties fail to agree upon a replacement, either party may apply to an arbitration institution or the court to appoint the replacement.
So long as an arbitrator appointed by one party becomes unable to perform as a result of any of the circumstances mentioned in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the other party may request the former party to appoint a replacement within fourteen days after receipt of the request. However, the chair appointed pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 9 shall not be affected [by the appointment of the replacement].
When the party receiving the request to appoint a replacement fails to do so within the time period specified in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the requesting party may apply to an arbitration institution or the court to make the appointment.
Should any one of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article occur in respect of an arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by an arbitration institution or by the court, such arbitration institution or the court may appoint a replacement or replacements upon an application by any party or by its own volition.
Should any one of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article occur in respect of the chair of an arbitral tribunal, the court may appoint a replacement upon an application by any party or by its own volition.
Article 14
Except for those subject to withdrawal proceedings hereunder, the appointment of arbitrators either by an arbitration institution or by the court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not be challenged by the parties.
Article 15
The arbitrator shall be independent, impartial and uphold the principle of confidentiality in conducting the arbitration.
An arbitrator involved in any of the following circumstances shall immediately disclose the details thereof to the parties:
1.the existence of any of the causes requiring a judge to withdraw from a judicial proceeding in accordance with Article 32 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
2.the existence or history of an employment or agency relationship between the arbitrator and a party;
3.the existence or history of an employment or agency relationship between the arbitrator and an agent of a party or between the arbitrator and a key witness; and,
4.the existence of any other circumstances which raise any justifiable doubts as to the impartiality or independence of the arbitrator.
Article 16
A party may apply to withdraw an arbitrator in any one of the following circumstances:
1.where the arbitrator does not meet the qualifications agreed by the parties; and,
2.where any of the circumstances in paragraph 2 of the preceding Article exists.
A party shall not apply to withdraw an arbitrator whom it appointed unless the cause for the withdrawal arose after the appointment or the cause is only known after the appointment.
Article 17
A party intending to request for the withdrawal of an arbitrator shall do so within fourteen days of knowing the cause [for withdrawal]. Such party shall submit a written application stating the reasons for the withdrawal to the arbitral tribunal. The arbitral tribunal shall make a decision within ten days upon receipt of such application, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
In the event that the arbitral tribunal has not yet been constituted, the time period for [requesting] a withdrawal mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall commence from the date that the arbitral tribunal is constituted.
Where a party wishes to challenge a decision made hereunder by the arbitral tribunal, such party shall apply for a judicial ruling within fourteen days of receiving notice of the arbitral decision.
A party shall not challenge the ruling reached by the court mentioned in the preceding paragraph of this Article.
An arbitrator shall withdraw in the event that both parties request the withdrawal.
An application to withdraw a sole arbitrator shall be submitted to the court for determination.