Permanent Court of Arbitration

Established in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference, the Permanent Court of Arbitration is involved in commercial arbitration administration since 1976, when the United Nations UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules came into force.

The 1976 United Nations UNCITRAL arbitration Rules entrusted the secretary-General of the PCA with the task of designating, upon request of a party to arbitration proceedings, an “appointing authority” to decide on the appointment or rule on questions concerning the challenge of arbitrators. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number and complexity of such requests, emanating from ad hoc arbitrations worldwide. In addition, the Secretary-General has with increasing frequency been requested to serve directly as appointing authority in UNCITRAL arbitrations.