concerning the issue is rendered by a court or administrative tribunal of one of the Contracting

Jurisdictions, the arbitration process shall terminate.

Article 20 – Appointment of Arbitrators

1. Except to the extent that the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions mutually agree on different rules, paragraphs 2 through 4 shall apply for the purposes of this Part.

2. The following rules shall govern the appointment of the members of an arbitration panel:

a) The arbitration panel shall consist of three individual members with expertise or experience in international tax matters.

b) Each competent authority shall appoint one panel member within 60 days of the date of the request for arbitration under paragraph 1 of Article 19 (Mandatory Binding Arbitration). The

two panel members so appointed shall, within 60 days of the latter of their appointments, appoint

a third member who shall serve as Chair of the arbitration panel. The Chair shall not be a

national or resident of either Contracting Jurisdiction.

c) Each member appointed to the arbitration panel must be impartial and independent of the competent authorities, tax administrations, and ministries of finance of the Contracting

Jurisdictions and of all persons directly affected by the case (as well as their advisors) at the

time of accepting an appointment, maintain his or her impartiality and independence throughout

the proceedings, and avoid any conduct for a reasonable period of time thereafter which may

damage the appearance of impartiality and independence of the arbitrators with respect to the

proceedings.

3. In the event that the competent authority of a Contracting Jurisdiction fails to appoint a member of the arbitration panel in the manner and within the time periods specified in paragraph 2 or agreed to by the

competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions, a member shall be appointed on behalf of that

competent authority by the highest ranking official of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that is not a national of either Contracting

Jurisdiction.

4. If the two initial members of the arbitration panel fail to appoint the Chair in the manner and within the time periods specified in paragraph 2 or agreed to by the competent authorities of the Contracting

Jurisdictions, the Chair shall be appointed by the highest ranking official of the Centre for Tax Policy and

Administration of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that is not a national of

either Contracting Jurisdiction.

Article 21 – Confidentiality of Arbitration Proceedings

1. Solely for the purposes of the application of the provisions of this Part and of the provisions of the relevant Covered Tax Agreement and of the domestic laws of the Contracting Jurisdictions related to the

exchange of information, confidentiality, and administrative assistance, members of the arbitration panel and

a maximum of three staff per member (and prospective arbitrators solely to the extent necessary to verify

their ability to fulfil the requirements of arbitrators) shall be considered to be persons or authorities to whom

information may be disclosed. Information received by the arbitration panel or prospective

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