Arbitrator Nguyen Manh Dzung is honored to serve as a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) Task Force on “The Nationality of the Arbitrator as a Proxy for Independence and Impartiality.”
The IBA’s Arbitration Committee brings together leading international arbitration practitioners from diverse legal systems and is regarded as a pioneer in the field. The Committee has undertaken numerous research projects and events to promote arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. Notable contributions include:
- The IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, which parties and arbitrators use to assess an arbitrator’s independence and impartiality. In Vietnam, the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) has creatively applied these Guidelines through the VIAC Arbitrator’s Declaration.
- The IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, a widely used set of soft law that assist parties and arbitral tribunals in evaluating and managing evidence effectively—particularly in complex cases with voluminous records.
Further information on the IBA Arbitration Committee is available here: https://www.ibanet.org/unit/Dispute+Resolution+Section/committee/Arbitration+Committee/3010
Arbitrator Nguyen Manh Dzung has actively contributed to IBA projects, including studies and reports on arbitration in Vietnam such as: Vietnam Report on the Public Policy Exception in the New York Convention; 2016 Research Project – Comparative Study of Arbitrability under the New York Convention; Vietnam Arbitration Guide 2024; and the IBA Arbitration Guide 2018 – Vietnam Report. Participation in such influential organizations not only helps present Vietnam to the international arbitration community as a friendly and fast-growing seat, but also advances Vietnamese arbitration toward international standards.
Building on his prior involvement, Arbitrator Nguyen Manh Dzung is currently a member of the Task Force studying the impact of an arbitrator’s nationality on their independence and impartiality.
In international arbitration practice, the relationship between nationality and an arbitrator’s independence has long been debated, with differing views in practice. Several prominent sets of arbitration rules address this issue, including Article 13(1) of the ICC Rules (2021) and Article 6 of the LCIA Rules (2020). In Vietnam, the 2010 Law on Commercial Arbitration and domestic institutional rules do not treat nationality as a mandatory factor in the selection or appointment of arbitrators, nor as a basis to question an arbitrator’s independence or impartiality. Vietnamese court practice to date has not recorded any cases on this issue. It thus remains relatively new and under-researched domestically.
To address these questions, the IBA has established a Task Force comprising arbitrators, experts, and scholars from various legal systems, countries, and legal cultures. Its aim is to conduct comparative analysis and provide multi-faceted perspectives on whether nationality should be a factor in assessing an arbitrator’s independence and impartiality. The Task Force is currently researching applicable laws and court practice across numerous jurisdictions, including Vietnam.
ADR Vietnam Chambers welcomes comments and exchanges from arbitrators, lawyers, experts, researchers, and the arbitration community on the following specific issues to support the IBA project:
- Research into any nationality considerations/requirements with respect to arbitrator appointments under Vietnamese laws;
- Research into the travaux préparatoires of Vietnamese laws that include nationality considerations/restrictions in relation to arbitrator appointments;
- Case-law research regarding nationality-based challenges to (a) arbitrators and (b) arbitral awards; and
- To the extent not covered above, research into any nationality considerations/requirements specific to arbitrations involving state-owned enterprises.
Any opinions, please send to: Pham Duong Hoang Phuc, Research Assistant — Email: phuc.pham@adr.com.vn.
