Op-Ed: “The Lack of Impartiality of an Arbitrator as a Breach of Article 6(1) ECHR: BEG SPA v Italy” by Bianca Nalbandian and Olivier Baillet

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recently upheld an application made by the Italian company BEG S.P.A. (BEG) against Italy, ruling that an arbitrator’s established lack of objective impartiality may amount to a breach of the guarantees provided by Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

This dispute finds its roots in commercial arbitral proceedings initiated in November 2000 by BEG against ENELPOWER, a subsidiary of ENEL – a then State-controlled enterprise –, over a failed cooperation agreement to build an electricity plant in Albania. The arbitration was held under the Rome Chamber of Commerce (ACR) rules and before a panel of three arbitrators. Two out of three arbitrators expressly disclo