The serious reasons of convenience provided for by Article 815, No. 6-bis, of the Code of Civil Procedure as grounds for challenge of an arbitrator cannot be identified with the mere existence of a dispute, even if harsh, within the arbitral tribunal concerning the procedural and substantive decisions to be taken and the manner of recording them, as such conflict does not give rise to suspicion of a personal interest of the arbitrator nor to the impression that the arbitrator intends to pursue personal objectives and purposes capable of engendering bias towards one of the parties or their respective counsel.
The disclosure to the parties of an internal dispute within the arbitral tribunal and of a draft procedural order does not in itself constitute a circumstance capable of conferring objective substance to doubts concerning the impartiality of the arbitrators for the purposes of challenge under Article 815 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Conduct justifying the challenge of an arbitrator must objectively signify a breach of the principle of independence and impartiality, the conditions legitimising the application having to be characterised by objective perceptibility and seriousness, given the evident consequences of an order granting the challenge on the identification of the arbitral adjudicating body.
The loss of a climate of serenity within the arbitral tribunal does not constitute a necessary condition for the proper conduct of arbitral proceedings, nor does its absence in itself justify the challenge of arbitrators, it remaining within the power of the party to replace its own arbitrator pursuant to Article 811 of the Code of Civil Procedure.