Topic: Role and Power of Arbitrator

Submitted by Humaira Rehman Malik

Submitted to Ma’am Humaira Nawaz
Roll no SP18I4BA004
Subject Arbitration Act
Semester 9th
Session 2018-23

Department of Law
THE ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY OF BAHAWALPUR
A Case study on Role and Power of Arbitrator
Arbitration
Arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties,
to one or more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. The parties are
free to choose the number of arbitrators to be appointed for the proceedings. If they fail to
do so, a sole arbitrator is to be appointed. Section 11 talks about the appointment of
arbitrators. The parties are free to agree upon a procedure for the appointment of the
arbitrators. In case of three arbitrators, each party has to appoint one arbitrator and they
have to appoint a third arbitrator who shall be the presiding arbitrator. In case either the
parties or the two arbitrators fail to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days, then upon the
request of the parties, the Supreme Court or the High Court or any person or institution
designated by the courts shall appoint one.
Power of Arbitrator
There are many powers of arbitrator

 The arbitrator has a power to administer an oath to the parties. It is necessary

for him to act as a quasi-judicial authority
 Power to take interim measures
 According to section 25, an arbitrator has an power to proceed to ex-parte
 Power to appoint an expert
 Power to make awards

Role of Arbitrator

Arbitrators have a formal role and have the authority to decide the issues in dispute
between the parties. Arbitrator’s decisions closely resemble the decisions of a judge.
Arbitration is conducted in lieu of a trial and is a more formal proceeding. The arbitrator’s
function is to render a decision on the issues. During arbitration, both parties are given the
opportunity to present their case to the arbitrator, which can include the introduction of
evidence and testimony of the parties and/or witnesses. The arbitrator than issues an
arbitration award, which can only be contested under certain circumstances. Arbitration
ends when the arbitration award is finalized. Due to the arbitrator’s role as decision
maker, the arbitrator is precluded from engaging in settlement discussions with the
parties.

When a disagreement or dispute arises and the parties are not able to resolve their
differences on their own or through voluntary mediation, a third party must step in to
make a decision on whose position should prevail. When the dispute is resolved
through litigation, a judge or a jury hears the evidence and arguments and makes a
binding decision that the parties must comply with litigation can be very costly for all
involved parties, especially as there are strict rules for how evidence can be presented
and the process of a court hearing can take a long time. Litigation can also result in
embarrassing or private information becoming public. Finally, when the dispute
arises in a technical industry, or when understanding the context of the dispute requires
specialized or industry-specific knowledge, a judge or jury may not be in the best
position to resolve the disagreement.

Arbitration is an alternative to litigation. The process of arbitration can be less costly,

and the disagreement and outcome of the case can remain private. An arbitrator
can also be selected that has inside knowledge and a deep understanding of the
issues about which the disagreement is centered.
Parties can elect to resolve their disagreement through arbitration at the time when the
dispute arises; however, it is more likely that disputes will be submitted to arbitration
because parties agreed this would be the process before a problem arises. For
example, many real estate contracts contain an arbitration clause and many
companies also include arbitration clauses in product terms and conditions or
employment agreements.