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FAQ

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Can an arbitral tribunal assess the validity of an arbitration clause?

The arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction, including any objections concerning the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. Invalidity or termination of the underlying contract does not entail the invalidity of the arbitration clause.

An objection to the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal may be raised by the respondent no later than in the response to the statement of claim, unless another time limit was agreed by the parties. The party may raise the objection later if it did not know and could not have known of the grounds for objection or if the grounds appeared later.

The right to raise an objection is not excluded by the fact that a party has appointed or participated in the appointment of an arbitrator.

An objection that the arbitral tribunal is exceeding the scope of its authority should be raised as soon as the matter alleged to be beyond the scope of its authority is raised during the proceedings.

In any case, the arbitral tribunal may admit a later objection if it considers the delay justified.