arbitration rules

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By Sophie Lamb and Samuel Pape

Recent innovations at a number of arbitral institutions have brought into sharp focus arbitration options for post Brexit financial disputes.

The English Arbitration Act is in its 20th year. It provides a tried-and-tested framework for international arbitration. Brexit will not affect that framework. Brexit should have no impact on London’s standing as a leading arbitral seat. For international arbitration, it is the New York Convention that is our most important legal infrastructure. That global treaty, which allows for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in over 150 countries (including EU Member States), does not depend on membership of the EU.  

By Robert Price

The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce’s (SCC) revised draft Rules for Expedited Arbitration (the Expedited Rules) and the SCC’s draft Arbitration Rules (the Arbitration Rules) (together the Rules), due to come into force in January 2017, are a welcome innovation.

Key provisions

The Rules introduce provisions that aim to combat the longstanding criticisms of arbitration in relation to delays and excessive costs. The following provisions are of particular significance:

  1. Frontloading – Articles 6 and 9 of the Expedited Rules provide for an accelerated process where the Claimant’s Request for Arbitration also constitutes its Statement of Claim and the Respondent’s Answer constitutes its Statement of Defence. This combines two procedural steps to increase efficiency and reduce delays.
  2. Summary procedure – The SCC is the first major arbitral institution to expressly adopt a summary procedure where the arbitrator will be able to decide one or more issues of fact or law. This is a feature of both the Expedited Rules and the Arbitration Rules (Article 40 and Article 39, respectively) and invites the arbitrator to dispose of an unsustainable claim at an early stage in what otherwise could be long and costly proceedings.
  3. Expedited steps – The Expedited Rules further provide for the appointment of one arbitrator (Article 17) who is then obliged within 7 days to establish a timetable (Article 29). The Expedited Rules make it unlikely that there will be a hearing unless the reasons are compelling (Article 33). In order to ensure an accelerated procedure, the Rules include a duty on all parties to “act in an efficient and expeditious manner” (Article 2).