INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ARBITRATION IN SWITZERLAND

Chapter 1 Introduction 8 2. Arbitral institutions and their sets of rules There are numerous arbitration rules to which the parties can submit. Below is a brief discussion of those sets of rules that are particularly important in international arbitration from a Swiss perspective, either because of the frequency of their application or because the institution is located in Switzerland. It should be noted that the structure of the arbitral procedure is not a particularly distinguishing feature in institutional arbitration rules. The differences manifest themselves primarily in the intensity with which the proceedings are administered and the arbitral tribunal is supervised by the institution ( e.g. by fixing and collecting advances for the arbitrators’ fees, monitoring the progress of the case, scrutinising the award, etc.). a. Swiss Rules of International Arbitration The Swiss Rules were first made available in 2004. Proceedings conducted under the Swiss Rules are administered by the Swiss Arbitration Centre (the legal successor to the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution). 16 The original version of the Swiss Rules was based on the UNCITRAL Rules with various innovations and adaptions. 17 The Swiss Rules were amended in 2012 and again in 2021, with the continued purpose of providing users around the world with an efficient and reliable framework for arbitration (see Introduction, (b)). The Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, an independent body composed of leading arbitration practitioners of Swiss and other nationalities, is responsible for the administration of arbitration cases under the Swiss Rules and the final authority for the proper application of the Swiss Rules. The approach of the Swiss Rules is to limit the institution’s control of the arbitral process to what is necessary, which contributes to a lean administration. 16 It should be noted that the services of the Swiss Arbitration Centre (as well as those of the other institutions mentioned below) are no longer confined to the administration of arbitration cases, but extend to a wide range of other ADR services, including acting as appointing authority or fund holder in UNCITRAL and other ad hoc proceedings. 17 See the overview provided by Peter, SchiedsVZ 2004, 57 – 65. 25 26 27