Who is the most influential arbitrator in the world?
Global Arbitration Review | 14 January 2016
Who is the most influential arbitrator in the world?
Allen & Overy’s Rishab Gupta and Katrina Limond apply citation analysis to measure
influence in investment treaty arbitration.
Selection of an arbitrator is one of the most critical phases of international arbitration, yet the selection process is plagued by inefficiencies. Most information about arbitrators is obtained through word-of-mouth enquiries. Such information may be unreliable and is likely, almost certainly, to be incomplete. It is also, by definition, subjective, as it is based on personal experiences and not objective criteria.
Therefore, there is a need to identify neutral attributes of arbitrator quality that can objectively be measured. One such attribute is the influence of an arbitrator, which, as we explain in this article, can be analysed using two measureable proxies: the number of citations of decisions issued by the arbitrators; and the number of appointments received by the arbitrators. Of course, using these two proxies means that other indicators of influence – such as their number of academic publications, institutional appointments and industry recognition – are not captured.
