As Third-Party Funding (TPF) continues to shape the landscape of international arbitration, concerns over transparency, arbitrator independence, and ethical governance of disclosures have intensified. The 2024 ICSID-UNCITRAL Code of Conduct and the revised International Bar Association (IBA) Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest reflect a growing consensus for the need to regulate the ethical dimensions of arbitration. This paper explores how these frameworks, along with the forthcoming 2025 SIAC Rules, address the ethical challenges posed by TPF, particularly considering increasing scrutiny over conflicts of interest, arbitrator impartiality, and disclosure obligations. Through a comparative analysis of institutional regulations and recent case law, this paper examines whether existing ethical safeguards are sufficient to mitigate funder influence and uphold the legitimacy of arbitral proceedings. It also engages with broader ethical debates, such as the risks of repeat-player dynamics, arbitrator liability, and the impact of non-disclosure on award enforceability. By proposing a harmonized regulatory model, this paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on the future of ethics in arbitration, ensuring that transparency reforms balance access to justice with procedural fairness. As arbitration moves towards more nuanced and regulated institutionalization, TPF arrangements have been subsumed into the formal ethical architecture of arbitral bodies – entailing mandatory disclosure duties, binding conflict-of-interest checks and centralized cost-allocation mechanisms. Therefore, this study highlights the need for proactive regulatory measures to sustain public trust in the integrity of dispute resolution.
Asian International Arbitration Journal