On The Accountability System Of Commercial Arbitrators In China

Commercial arbitrators play an important role in commercial arbitration.The quality of arbitrators determines the quality of case,and also directly affects the healthy development of the arbitration industry.Therefore,it is particularly important to establish a scientific and reasonable arbitrator accountability system.However,the arbitrator liability system in China is not yet established,and the responsibilities of the arbitrator are also unclear.Therefore,it is urgent to establish and improve our arbitrator liability system.The responsibilities of commercial arbitrators include civil,criminal,administrative,and disciplinary responsibilities;the scope of commercial arbitrators' responsibilities mainly includes the scope of civil,criminal,and administrative responsibilities.Regarding the theoretical basis for establishing a liability system for commercial arbitrators,there are currently three theoretical theories: arbitration liability exemption theory,unlimited arbitration liability theory,and limited arbitration liability exemption theory.Establishing a system of accountability for commercial arbitrators is conducive to guaranteeing the justice and independence of arbitration,strengthening the consciousness of arbitrators' responsibility,and preventing corruption.At present,the criminal liability of arbitrators in China is relatively clear,that is,the crime of legal arbitration provides for situations in which arbitrators need to bear criminal liability.However,there are many controversies about the crime of illegal arbitration in the theoretical and practical community,and its constituent elements and judgment standards are all worth discussing.The civil and administrative responsibilities of arbitrators have not yet been clearly stipulated by law,and the theoretical community has different views on this.Except for the "Criminal Law Amendment Six",Article 38 of the arbitration law is the only one that explicitly mentions the legal liability of arbitrators in the existing laws of China.However,Article 38 of the Arbitration Law is too simple.It only stipulates that arbitrators should bear legal liability in two cases.As for the nature of legal liability and the way of bearing it,it is not involved,and there is no relevant judicial interpretation to be detailed in the follow-up,which lacks operability in practice.As for the arbitrator's disciplinaryresponsibility,since the China Arbitration Association has not yet been established,and uniform industry discipline has not been formulated,the arbitration institution to which the arbitrator belongs also lacks the motivation to monitor it due to its own reasons.Therefore,compared with legal liability,the disciplinary responsibility of arbitrators in our country is even blank.At present,China's arbitrator accountability system has problems at the legal,disciplinary,and supervisory levels;we should further improve our arbitrator's accountability system from four aspects: civil responsibility,criminal responsibility,disciplinary responsibility,and supervision mechanisms.