OECD Arbitration in Tax Treaty Law

1. S. 520Introduction

The capabilities and independence of arbitrators are essential components of a successful arbitration regardless of the area of law. In international tax law, arbitration is a generally accepted way to solve disputes among States since its inclusion into the OECD Model Convention in 2008. However, many countries are reluctant to embrace it. The selection of arbitrators is one of their main concerns. Taking this into account, the aim of this chapter is to compare approaches to the selection of arbitrators under different international instruments and present some proposals for improvement.

This chapter starts with presenting the current concerns with regard to the selection of arbitrators in Section 2. Section 3. describes different rules for the selection of arbitrators found in the UN Model (2011), the Multilateral Convention, the OECD Model (2017), the Arbitration Convention, and the EU Arbitration Directive. The UN Model (2011) is discussed first as it is the least recently updated of the available models. It is followed by the OECD instruments in the order they were approved. Finally, specific EU instruments are examined. Section 4. discusses the similarities and differ...