Arbitration (International Commercial) Act, 1998

Restriction on liability of arbitrators, etc.

12.—(1) An arbitrator shall not be liable for anything done or omitted in the discharge or purported discharge of his or her functions as arbitrator unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to an employee, agent or advisor of an arbitrator and to an expert appointed under Article 26, as it applies to the arbitrator.

(3) An arbitral or other institution or person designated or requested by the parties to appoint or nominate an arbitrator shall not be liable for anything done or omitted in the discharge or purported discharge of that function unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith.

(4) An arbitral or other institution or person by whom an arbitrator is appointed or nominated shall not be liable for anything done or omitted by the arbitrator (or his or her employees or agents) in the discharge or purported discharge of his or her functions as arbitrator.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) shall apply to an employee or agent of an arbitral or other institution or person as they apply to the institution or person himself or herself.

(6) A witness who gives evidence in proceedings before an arbitral tribunal shall have the same privileges and immunities as witnesses have in proceedings before the High Court.

(7) A person who—

(a) is a barrister or solicitor or holds qualifications that have been obtained in another jurisdiction and are equivalent to those of a barrister or solicitor, and

(b) appears in proceedings before an arbitral tribunal,

shall have the same privileges and immunities as barristers and solicitors have in proceedings before the High Court.

(8) A person who is a patent agent as defined in section 94 (3) of the Patents Act, 1992 , or a registered agent as defined in section 91 (3) of the Trade Marks Act, 1996 , shall have the same privileges and immunities referred to in subsection (7) when appearing in proceedings before an arbitral tribunal on—

(a) in the case of a patent agent, any matter concerning the protection of an invention, patent, design or technical information or any matter involving passing off, and

(b) in the case of a registered agent, any matter relating to the protection of a trade mark or any matter involving passing off.