Independence
Appointments follow a published process, not a relationship.
The same institution runs the Fellowship, the directory and case administration. That is workable only if the appointment process is written down, run by a named role, and reported in numbers.
The process
- Party nomination first, wherever the arbitration agreement or the Rules allow it.
- Where UNIONE™ appoints, the Appointments Officer proposes candidates from the Fellows directory and, where the matter requires, from outside it, against written criteria: sector, seat and governing-law experience, language, availability and independence.
- Every candidate completes a conflict check and a statement of independence before appointment; challenges follow Rules v4.0 (normally within 14 days of the ground becoming known).
- The Appointments Officer sits outside the Fellowship admissions team and reports to the Global Council.
- Emergency and Standing Neutral appointments follow the same criteria on the shorter timetable in the Service Standards.
What we publish
Appointments by designation, region and gender; the share that were party-nominated versus UNIONE™-made; the number of challenges and their outcomes. Figures appear in the Institutional Statistics monthly.
Fellowship and appointment are separate
Standing in the Fellowship is a vetted credential. It is not a case list and creates no entitlement to appointment. Fellows are appointed when they are the right fit for the matter; so are professionals who hold no UNIONE™ standing.