Publication of SIAC challenge decisions improves transparency

The compendium of SIAC challenge decisions provides consolidated access to redacted decisions issued by the SIAC Court of Arbitration on challenges to arbitrators.

Mohammed Talib, an expert in international arbitration at Pinsent Masons, said: “SIAC’s new Compendium places it among the few arbitral institutions that publish challenge decisions in a structured and accessible format.” 

“The HKIAC case digest, which won the GAR Award for Best Innovation in 2022, provides anonymised procedural decisions but is available primarily through a partnership with Jus Mundi and does not focus specifically on arbitrator challenges,” he said.

“Until now, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) was the only institution with a comparable public database. Other institutions, such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) publishes challenge decisions only as extracts in specific publications,” he added.

“By launching its own compendium, SIAC aligns itself with this transparency movement, which is increasingly expected by its users.”

The compendium, now available on SIAC’s website, will be updated periodically, offering users an evolving resource that reflects SIAC’s commitment to transparency, according to the centre.

Frederic Gillion, an expert in international arbitration at Pinsent Masons, said: “SIAC’s compendium is highly navigable, regularly updated, categorised by either upheld or rejected, redacted for confidentiality and accessible directly from SIAC’s website.”

“This makes it a practitioner-friendly resource, allowing counsel, arbitrators, and parties to quickly locate relevant precedents and understand prevailing institutional reasoning,” he said.

“It also gives users a far clearer view of the SIAC court’s approach to issues such as impartiality, independence, and procedural fairness, areas where public visibility has historically been limited.”