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56 Va. J. Int'l L. 647 (2016)
Blinding International Justice

handle is hein.journals/vajint56 and id is 661 raw text is: ARTICLE Blinding International Justice SERGIO PUIG* The past twentyyears have seen a tremendous rise in international dispute settlement mechanisms. As international adjudication has become more prominent and pervasive, some of its mostfundamental tenets have also come under scrutiny. Recently, a new debate has emerged regarding par-appointments - a widespread feature in international arbitration. While international arbitrators, like nationaljudges, are supposed to exercise independentjudgment and be neutral and impartial, practitioners and scholars concur that arbitrators often lean in favor of the nominating party. As a result of concerns over a lack of impartiality, blind appointments - where nominees do not know which party appointed them - have been suggested as a corrective intervention in the arbitration field. This Article explores the causes, implementation challenges, and possible limitations of blind appointments in arbitration. It makes three contributions. First, it proposes a conceptualframework to understand the dfierent biases introduced with the nomination ofjudges in international adjudication: compensation, affiliation, selection, and epistemic effects. Second, considering new data from investment arbitration proceedings and experimental surveys on arbitrators, it shows that blinding is a promising intervention to target affiliation effects while maintaining potential benefits resulting from pary paricjpation in tribunalformation. Third, it explains how blind appointments may have important limits as to their corrective properties and explores the conditions that are most favorable for the success of thisproposal in other fields of international adjudication. *Associate Professor and Director, International Economic Law and Policy Program, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona. I would like to thank Negar Katirai, Dave Marcus, Andy Coan, Enric Torrents, David Gantz, James Anaya, Joost Pauwelyn, Greg Shaffer, Christopher Robertson, Katerina Linos, James Gathii, Cynthia Ho, Harlan Grant Cohen, Peter B. Rutledge, Chris Drahozal, Carmen Mestizo, Creighton Dixon, and the participants in the seminars and workshops at Arizona, Loyola-Chicago, Irvine, Georgia, and Berkeley Law for their helpful criticisms, advice, and suggestions on earlier drafts. Thanks also to the editors of The Virginia journal of International Law for expert editing and to the generosity of the University of Arizona Summer Research Grant.

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