This is the first time that such rules are being adopted in Russia. Their adoption may have been triggered by some recent cases in which arbitral awards were annulled by the Russian courts on the ground of alleged partiality of arbitrators. The most well-known case is a Moscow court's decision to set aside four awards issued by the International Court of Commercial Arbitration (ICAC) in Yukos Capital v Rosneft. The grounds for setting aside were that the arbitrators had failed to disclose that they had spoken at conferences co-sponsored by the law firm advising Yukos.

The new rules have taken into account modern international practice, that is, the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration and the rules of various international arbitral centres.

The rules specify the circumstances in which the arbitrator is obliged to withdraw from office, to disclose to the parties information on a possible conflict of interest or may be challenged by a party.

The rules contain the so-called red, yellow and green lists of circumstances which evidence partiality or impartiality of the arbitrators:

The rules have also been endorsed by the Presidium of the ICAC at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and by the Management Board of the Russian Center for Assistance to Arbitration.

The rules are non-binding and apply in addition to any agreement between the parties, the rules of any chosen arbitral institution and the applicable law. The rules can also be relied on by the Russian state courts when considering challenges to or enforcement of arbitral awards when the impartiality and independence of the arbitrators becomes an issue.