Unless the arbitrator challenged under Section 1297.132 withdraws from his or her office or the other party agrees to the challenge, the arbitral tribunal shall decide on the challenge.
§ 1297.133.Arbitral Tribunal to Decide Challenge
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 3. Composition of Arbitral Tribunals · Article 4. Challenge Procedure · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.133 has the arbitral tribunal itself decide a challenge made under Section 1297.132, unless the challenged arbitrator withdraws or the other party agrees to the challenge first.
Full Text of § 1297.133
Plain-English Summary
Once a written challenge goes in under Section 1297.132, someone has to rule on it, and this section names who: the arbitral tribunal itself, including the very arbitrator being challenged. That may sound like asking a person to judge their own case, but the tribunal only reaches this stage if the challenge hasn't already resolved itself another way.
Two shortcuts avoid that awkward result. If the challenged arbitrator withdraws from office outright, there's nothing left to decide. If the other party agrees to the challenge, the matter is resolved by consent. Only when neither of those happens does the tribunal have to rule on whether the challenge succeeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides a challenge to an arbitrator under the default procedure?
The arbitral tribunal itself, unless the challenge is resolved first by the arbitrator's withdrawal or the other party's agreement.
Does the challenged arbitrator take part in deciding the challenge?
The section doesn't exclude the challenged arbitrator from the tribunal that decides, since it refers to the tribunal deciding as a whole rather than the other members alone.
What happens if the challenged arbitrator withdraws before the tribunal rules?
The tribunal doesn't need to decide the challenge at all; the withdrawal resolves it.
What if a party loses the challenge before the tribunal?
Section 1297.134 lets the challenging party ask the superior court to decide the challenge instead.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective March 7, 1988.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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