Dismissal of the request for challenge of an arbitrator by the supporting judge

Facts

This case concerns a dispute between company X. GmbH and company Y. Sàrl in the context of an international arbitration procedure. The appellant, X. GmbH, filed a request for challenge of one of the arbitrators, which the Court of First Instance of the Canton of Geneva, as the supporting judge, dismissed by judgment of October 31, 2011.

The appellant then filed an appeal to the Federal Tribunal against the final arbitral award, invoking in particular the violation of Article 190 paragraph 2 letter a of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA) regarding the irregular composition of the arbitral tribunal.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal dismissed this ground. According to its consistent case law, when the supporting judge has ruled on a request for challenge of an arbitrator pursuant to Article 180 paragraph 3 PILA, his decision is final and cannot be challenged either directly or indirectly in an appeal against the final arbitral award.

The Federal Tribunal explains that this solution aims to limit as much as possible the possibilities of challenge in the international arbitration procedure, in accordance with the objective pursued by Swiss legislation. When a…