INTERNAL REGULATIONS OF THE TEHRAN REGIONAL ARBITRATION CENTRE

Article 1: Objectives

The Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre (the “Centre”) is established pursuant to the Agreement dated 3 May 1997 (the “Agreement”), between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) and its objectives are as follow:

  1. Conducting arbitration under the auspices of the Centre;
  2. Promotion of international commercial arbitration in the region;
  3. Coordinating the activities of, and offering assistance to, the existing arbitration institutions in the region;
  4. Providing assistance to ad hoc arbitrations, including acting as appointing authority, particularly in cases where they are taking place in accordance with the UNCITRAL Rules;
  5. Providing assistance in the enforcement of arbitral awards; and
  6. Providing assistance in the settlement of disputes.

Article 2: Administration

  1. The Centre shall be administered by a Director who shall be appointed in accordance with the Agreement.
  2. The Director shall have all necessary powers for the application of the Rules of Arbitration and the Internal Regulations. He or she shall be assisted in his or her works by a Secretariat.
  3. The Director shall implement the Rules of Arbitration and the Internal Regulations with independence and impartiality, and may consult with the Arbitration Boards, on any matters relating to the implementation of the Rules of Arbitration.
  4. Decisions on the jurisdiction of the Centre pursuant to article 7 of the Rules of Arbitration and decisions on the challenge of an arbitrator pursuant to article 14, paragraph 5 of the Rules of Arbitration shall be made by a committee comprising three members of the Arbitration Boards. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Director. They shall be independent from the parties and the arbitrators involved.
  5. When the draft award is submitted by the arbitral tribunal to the Centre pursuant to article 35, paragraph 4 of the Rules of Arbitration, the Director shall submit the draft award to a committee comprising three members of the Arbitration Boards for scrutiny. Each member of the committee shall provide its comments on matters of form and substance of the award. The Director shall notify the comments to the arbitral tribunal.

Article 3: Arbitration Boards

  1. The Centre shall have one International Arbitration Board and one Domestic Arbitration Board (the “Arbitration Boards”), each consisting of one Chairman, one Vice Chairman, and twelve members at the most to be appointed by the Director, after consultation with the Secretary General of the AALCO.
  2. The members of the Arbitration Boards shall be appointed from among eminent personalities, specialized in the fields of arbitration and trade.
  3. The members of the Arbitration Boards may be appointed up to two third from amongst nationals of countries other than the member States of the AALCO.
  4. The members of the Arbitration Boards shall be appointed for three years. If a member resigns or is no longer in a position to exercise his functions, his successor shall be appointed in accordance with the above paragraph for the remainder of the term.

Article 4: Confidentiality

  1. The Director, the members of the Secretariat and the members of the Arbitration Boards shall respect the confidential nature of the work of the Centre and the documents submitted by the parties or the arbitrators in relation to cases administered under the auspices of the Centre. They shall in particular refrain from disclosing any information or document that has been communicated to them in connection with their duties under the Rules of Arbitration or the Internal Regulations.
  2. For the purposes of promoting international arbitration, the Centre may publish the full text of the awards, or their extracts, after having deleted the names and other such references that may give an indication as to the identity of the parties.

Article 5: Participation of the members of the Centre in arbitration

  1. The Director and the members of the Secretariat shall not act as arbitrator or as counsel in cases submitted to the Centre.
  2. The Centre shall not appoint members of the Arbitration Boards as arbitrator.
  3. Members of the Arbitration Boards may however be appointed by either of the parties as counsel or arbitrator. In such events, and more generally when a member of the Arbitration Boards is involved in any capacity in proceedings pending before the Centre, he or she shall immediately inform the Director of such involvement, and shall refrain from participating in the discussions or in the recommendations of the Arbitration Boards concerning such proceedings. He or she shall further refrain from participating in the meetings of the Arbitration Boards whenever matters in relation to those proceedings are discussed and shall not receive any documentation or information pertaining to such proceedings.

Article 6: Modification of the Rules of Arbitration

Whenever necessary, the Director may, after consultation with the Arbitration Boards, suggest modifications to the Rules of Arbitration or the Internal Regulations. The modifications shall be submitted to the Secretary General of the AALCO and shall become effective after his or her approval.

Article 7: Other rules

The Director may, in consultation with the Arbitration Boards and the Secretary General of the AALCO, prepare rules for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.