Arbitration
Services for more than 150 years

Understanding Arbitration

Confidential, effective, and neutral dispute resolution is key to enable companies to move forward quickly and focus on creating value for the future.

Arbitration is a flexible, efficient, neutral, and confidential method of dispute resolution. It results in a final legally binding and enforceable award rendered by one or three arbitrators after having examined the evidence available and the application of the law.

International Arbitration

International arbitration is a method for resolving disputes between parties from different countries in a neutral and private forum, outside national courts.

A key type is international commercial arbitration, which is used for disputes arising out of commercial contracts and business relationships. It is widely applied in international trade because it allows parties to agree in advance on:

• Seat (legal jurisdiction): The location where the arbitration is legally based; determines the procedural rules and court oversight.
• Language: The language in which the arbitration proceedings and documentation are conducted.
• Applicable law: The substantive law that governs the contract or dispute, which the arbitrators use to decide the case.
• Arbitrators: The neutral individuals appointed to hear the dispute and make a binding decision.

The Swiss Arbitration Tradition

The Swiss Chambers of Commerce have been offering arbitration services for more than 150 years. Since 2004, the International Arbitration Rule have provided a flexible, efficient, and cost-effective framework for resolving disputes, based on international best practices and tailored to the needs of global and domestic users.

Arbitrations under the Swiss Rules are administered by the Swiss Arbitration Court, which is composed of experienced international arbitration practitioners. Arbitrations under the Swiss Rules can be tailored to any budget and dispute. They can be held in any language, anywhere in the world, and can also be combined with mediation or conciliation.

Why the Swiss Rules?

At the core of the services of the Swiss Arbitration Centre are the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration and the Swiss Rules of Mediation.

To facilitate and expedite dispute resolution, we recommend you use the Swiss Rules model clauses in all your contracts so that the Swiss Rules apply to your dispute. The Swiss Rules can be used for contracts and disputes that are either domestic or international.

For further information about the Swiss Rules and the reasons why Switzerland is an excellent choice for arbitration, please see the advantages of Swiss Arbitration or visit the Swiss Arbitration Resources.