The terms in the arbitrator’s contract reveal the powers, rights and duties the parties to the various contracts exercise in the arbitral reference, and all these powers, rights and duties emanate from the same sources.
National laws and International Conventions
The source of the primary power to enter into an arbitration agreement (conferred on the disputing parties) is national laws or international conventions.
The disputing parties are empowered under various national laws to agree on certain procedural rules themselves and to empower the arbitrator to make decisions on various aspects of the arbitration reference. These very broad powers granted to the disputing parties are subject to any mandatory provisions of the lex loci arbitri. The procedural powers, rights and duties granted under national laws are predominantly default provisions that apply where the disputing parties have not made contrary provisions in the arbitration agreement.
Arbitration Agreement
National arbitration laws grant disputing parties great powers over the determination of the scope of their arbitration agreement and the arbitral procedure in recognition of the principle of party autonomy. The disputing parties exercise these powers either expressly by making provisions in the arbitration agreement or impliedly by adopting arbitration rules (institutional or ad hoc). Where the disputing parties fail to exercise these powers, national arbitration laws make default provisions to apply as such or to fill in gaps in existence.
Arbitration Rules
The disputing parties may incorporate a defined set of arbitration rules as the applicable procedural rules into the arbitration agreement. This set of rules grants certain rights to the arbitral tribunal (and arbitration institution).
The incorporation of the provisions of these arbitration rules into the arbitration agreement also amounts to an indirect grant of the powers contained in them by the disputing parties on the arbitrator (and arbitration institution). The version of the arbitration rules that would be relevant to these contracts may differ.
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