The Autonomy Of Arbitrators Appointment In Ad Hoc Arbitration-on The Application Of The Ad Hoc Arbitration Rules Of Hengqin Free Trade Zone

Autonomy is very important in the field of commercial arbitration,especially in the constitution of arbitral tribunal.The advantage of the arbitration is that the parties can choose arbitrators to resolve disputes.Compared with institutional arbitration,the tribunal of ad hoc arbitral is more dependent on the party’s autonomy.An important reason for the parties to choose ad hoc arbitration was that they could leave the dispute to be settled by arbitrators whom they trusted.At present,national(regional)legislation,international treaties,arbitration rules and the UNCITRAL Model Law have recognized the autonomy of the parties in the selection of provisional arbitrators.Under the principle of autonomy,the selection of ad hoc arbitrators also shows the characteristics of more diverse selection criteria,wider selection scope and more diverse selection methods.Whether the party autonomy can be realized is very important to the party.National(regional)legislation and arbitration rules provide for the autonomy of the parties in terms of selection criteria,number and selection methods.The parties may agree on the qualifications of the arbitrators,the number of arbitrators,the manner in which the sole arbitrators and the presiding arbitrators are to be formed.In order to help the parties to reach agreement,when the parties do not reach agreement on the above-mentioned matters,national(regional)legislation as well as arbitration rules provide for relief measures when the parties can not be elected.Of course,the autonomy of the parties is limited by the qualifications of arbitrators,the impartiality and independence of arbitrators and the principle of equality of the parties.The Opinions on Providing Judicial Guarantee for the Construction of Pilot Free Trade Zones Issued by the Supreme People’s Court in 2016 sent a signal for the establishment of the provisional arbitration system in China."Ad Hoc Arbitration Rules of Hengqin Free Trade Zone",as the first temporary arbitration rules in China,made specific provisions on the selection of temporary arbitrators.Through comparison," Ad Hoc Arbitration Rules of Hengqin Free Trade Zone " grants the parties freedom in the selection criteria and methods of arbitrators,and meanwhile severely limits the autonomy of the parties.In terms of the selection and appointment criteria,we have set strict access conditions for arbitrators.In terms of arbitrators roster,the number and information of foreign arbitrators are insufficient;In terms of the method of selection and appointment,only a single relief subject and method are stipulated.There are certain reasons why the Rules are restricts.These restrictions reflect the concern of the framers about the construction of the current integrity system,the expectation of the framers to guarantee the quality of the arbitrators with the capacity restrictions,and the framers’ pursuit of the efficiency of ad hoc arbitration.Although the above restrictions have some reasons,they are still too strict and unreasonable.Because the restrictions should be limited.In addition,statutory limitations on the qualifications of arbitrators do not necessarily guarantee the quality of arbitrators,quality of the arbitrator is ultimately regulated by the arbitration market and determined by the parties’ agreed qualifications.In addition,the scope of application of China’s ad hoc arbitration is China’s free trade zone,and the construction of China’s free trade zone integrity system is relatively perfect.Therefore,the Rules have the possibility to relax the limitation of party autonomy in the selection of arbitrators.To be specific,the selection of ad hoc arbitrators in China can be improved in the following aspects to enhance the degree of autonomy of the parties: Firstly,the restrictions on other qualifications of arbitrators should be relaxed under the condition of ensuring the minimum qualifications of arbitrators;Secondly,the number of foreign arbitrators and the information of arbitrators should be improved.Finally,a variety of relief measures should be introduced when the parties are unable to be selected.