INTRODUCTION
Since its first edition in 2004, the International Bar Association (IBA) Guidelines on Conflict of Interest in International Arbitration have been the go-to guide for Arbitrators, Counsel, and Arbitral Institutions in identifying conflicts of interest and
assessing the need for disclosure. In February 2024, The International Bar Association (the “IBA”) released the most recent version of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration (the “2024 IBA Guidelines”/ “the
Guideline”)1. The 2024 IBA Guidelines are the product of over a year of broad public consultations and surveys conducted at the IBA annual meeting and in other meetings around the world, led by a Task Force responsible for revising the 2014 IBA Guidelines. It is trite that, conflict of interest goes to the root of international arbitration practice as it can be a ground for the nullification of an arbitration proceeding, the disqualification of an Arbitrator, and the challenge of an arbitral award. For this reason, the 2024 IBA Guidelines are significant because, among other things, they place a particular emphasis on the need for a concerted effort to ensure that the arbitration proceedings are conducted transparently, impartially, and independently thereby retaining arbitration as the suitable and reliable dispute resolution mechanism for users. This piece seeks to
examine the provision of the guidelines and makes effective recommendations on best practices for identifying conflicts of interest as well as disclosing the same in international arbitration.