---
title: "Institutional and Ad Hoc Arbitration"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/dispute-resolution-and-litigation-en/institutional-and-ad-hoc-arbitration-en"
field: "Dispute Resolution & Litigation"
description: "Institutional and ad hoc arbitration: incorporation of rules, number of arbitrators, procedure — Articles 2, 10 and 24 of the Law on Arbitration. Legal.ge."
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Institutional and Ad Hoc Arbitration

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/dispute-resolution-and-litigation-en/institutional-and-ad-hoc-arbitration-en

When parties draft an arbitration clause, one of the first decisions concerns whether the arbitration will be administered or ad hoc — that is, a proceeding organised solely by the parties and the arbitrators, without the management of a specialised institution. The Georgian Law on Arbitration recognises both models equally, yet for each of them the law fills differently the gaps that remain undefined in the clause or agreement. On this page we explain Articles 2, 10 and 24 of the law: what legal effect the choice of an institution has, how the number of arbitrators is determined, and who sets the rules of the proceedings if the parties fail to agree.

## The Choice of an Institution and the Incorporation of Its Rules (Article 2)

Paragraph 2 of the article contains the norm that gives institutional arbitration its decisive significance: an agreement of the parties on a specific arbitral institution comprises an agreement on the rules of that same institution. This means that when you indicate a specific arbitration institution in a contract, in the eyes of the law you agree not only on where the dispute will be heard, but also on the rules by which that institution administers its proceedings. In general, the parties may also agree on the rules of arbitral proceedings: such an agreement covers the rules indicated by the parties in the arbitration agreement. In ad hoc arbitration this norm works the other way round: no institution has been chosen, so the source of the rules is the parties’ direct agreement, and, in the event of a gap, the dispositive norms of the law and the arbitration’s own decision.

## The Number of Arbitrators (Article 10)

Article 10 provides that the arbitration consists of one or several arbitrators. The number of arbitrators and the procedure for their appointment are determined by the parties, and the parties appoint an equal number of arbitrators unless their agreement provides otherwise. Where the arbitration agreement defines the number of arbitrators as an even number, the arbitrators already appointed are obliged, within 10 days of the appointment, to appoint one more arbitrator, so that the panel can reach a decision. If the number of arbitrators is not determined by the parties’ agreement, the arbitration must be composed of three arbitrators — this default matters for cases where the number was left imprecise in the clause. In institutional arbitration this issue is usually resolved by the institution’s rules, while in ad hoc arbitration one runs into precisely this norm at the moment a gap appears.

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### What is the effect of naming an institution in a clause?

An agreement on a specific arbitral institution comprises an agreement on its rules — the institution’s regulations become part of the clause.

### How many arbitrators are there by default?

If the number is not fixed by agreement, the arbitration is composed of three arbitrators.

### What happens with an even number?

The appointed arbitrators must appoint one more arbitrator within 10 days.

### Who determines the rules absent an agreement?

Under Article 24, the arbitration itself determines the rules, in compliance with the requirements of the law.