BLOG -
Recent and Future Developments in Arbitration
The year 2024 has only just started but we already have some developments in arbitration, which are worth mentioning. Some arbitration institutes have amended their arbitration rules, some changed their fees and others have introduced new platforms. The next months will, furthermore, bring some interesting changes in legislation. We are looking forward to the year 2024 as it holds the potential to have a big impact on arbitration, especially in our home jurisdiction, Germany. In the following we highlight some of the most notable developments.
Reform of the German arbitration law (10th Book of the Code of Civil Procedure)
The German Federal Minister of Justice, Dr Marco Buschmann published key points on a reform of German arbitration law in April 2023. We summarized the key points in our blog article of 19 April 2023 (Reform of German Arbitration Law: Initial Key Point | Advant Beiten (advant-beiten.com)). Since then the Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer (Statement No 21) and the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) (Statement on the key points) submitted statements to these key points in May 2023. If the Federal Ministry of Justice pursues the plan to reform the German arbitration law, there will be a first draft bill in 2024. We are looking forward to such a draft bill and to see what the suggested reforms will be.
Tribunal Secretary Platform of ASA and Jus Connect
The Swiss Arbitration Association has announced that it will unveil a platform together with Jus Connect (ASA's Announcement). The platform shall facilitate contact between arbitrators and individuals who are open to act as tribunal secretary. Furthermore, there will be templates and a database for tribunal secretaries. The database and the search for suitable individual shall be open to the entire arbitration community. We welcome this initiative and hope to see more diversity and inclusion in the field of arbitration by making tribunal secretaries more visible.
New Arbitration Act in the UK
London's role as an arbitration hub lost some importance due to the Brexit. UK Government tries to restrengthen the importance by overhauling the Arbitration Act 1996. The new act shall simplify the procedure, reduce costs and delays, protect arbitrators from unreasonable lawsuits against them and support the use of emergency arbitration. Currently the draft bill is still in process of the UK's legislation, but the new arbitration act will most probably become effective in 2024. The current status of the process can be followed on the website of the UK Parliament.
Higher Fees for Arbitrators in SCC Arbitration Proceedings
The SCC Arbitration Institute has introduced higher fees for arbitrators starting from 1 January 2024. Since the last increase dates back to 2017, the SCC decided to adjust the fees for arbitrators between 5 and 15%. The updated fees can be found on the SCC website. Already in 2023, the SCC has introduced new arbitration rules. These rules can now be accessed in more languages. For example, a translation into German is available since the middle of 2023.
New SHIAC Arbitration Rules
On 1 January 2024 the new arbitration rules of the SHIAC became effective. These new arbitration rules will benefit the growing demand of arbitration on the Chinese and global market. They include several special rules, inter alia, for online arbitration, aviation, and data. These rules shall increase the procedural options of parties, such as options for consolidation, third-party inclusion, interim measures, and emergency arbitration. A brief summary of the new arbitration rules can be found on the website of the SHIAC.
New CIETAC Arbitration Rules
On 1 January, the new arbitration rules of CIETAC became effective. These revised arbitration rules are a further step to modern arbitration rules and applying the international standard to its rules. Notable among others are the new competence of tribunals to decide on their own jurisdiction, the possibility of early dismissal, a provision on third-party funding and provisions on ad hoc arbitration. The latter is most notable since ad hoc arbitration proceedings are not acknowledged by the Chinese arbitration law but might be in future.
These aforementioned topics are not meant to be conclusive but to be a brief highlighting of current changes and developments. We are looking forward to seeing the new arbitration rules in action. Especially for the German arbitration landscape, it could be an interesting year that may have an influence on German arbitration proceedings for the next years. Hopefully, any of the developments will lead to a more diverse and more practicable toolbox for the resolution of domestic and cross-country disputes.
Experts
|
Dr Ralf Hafner Rechtsanwalt, M.Sc. Partner |
|
|
|
Dr Tobias Pörnbacher Rechtsanwalt Associate |
|