Arbitrator Impartiality: the devil is in the details

Anyone who knows Rusty Park knows two things about him: 1) much of his scholarship focuses on arbitrator impartiality, and 2) one of his favorite phrases is "the devil is in the detail." Because of the centrality of arbitrator impartiality to both our careers, it was the perfect topic for this short contribution to a special edition of the LCIA's Arbitration International Journal issue in honor of Rusty's many years of service as its editor and as one of the leading lights in international arbitration scholarship. International arbitrator impartiality is the fulcrum on which the legitimacy of international arbitration hinges. For all its importance, however, the concept of arbitrator impartiality is not only the lofty essence of international arbitration. Arbitrator impartiality is instead cultivated by careful attention to those devilish details, in the forms of regulation, in arbitrators’ self-assessments, in their decisions to disclose, and in decisions about their disqualification.