Originally From: Arbitration Law of Switzerland: Practice & Procedure

Preview Page

— Chapter 4 —
THE SWISS RULES OF INTERNATIONAL
ARBITRATION AND THE PRACTICES OF THE
SWISS CHAMBERS’ ARBITRATION
INSTITUTION

4.1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The Swiss Rules of International Arbitration (the “Swiss Rules”)
were introduced in 2004 as the product of a consolidated effort by
various regional chambers of commerce and industry in Switzerland to
harmonize their respective arbitration rules. A revised version of the
Swiss Rules came into force on 1 June 2012 and applies to all
arbitrations in which the notice of arbitration has been submitted on or
after that date, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
The Swiss Rules were initially modeled on the 1976 UNICTRAL
Rules of Arbitration, to which two main types of changes and additions
were made: first, changes required to adapt the 1976 UNCITRAL
Arbitration Rules, which were designed for ad hoc arbitration, to
institutional arbitration; second, changes and additions reflecting modern
practice of international arbitration, including for example provisions on
multi-party proceedings, consolidation and joinder, or the expedited
procedure under which an award must be rendered within 6 months and
which applies if the parties have agreed to it or if the amount in dispute
does not exceed CHF 1 million. A guiding principle in drafting the Swiss
Rules was to fully enable users to fashion proceedings that would serve
their specific needs.
In 2010, a working group comprised of experienced arbitration
practitioners was set up to revise the Swiss Rules. The revision process
was not prompted by the 2010 revision of the UNCITRAL Arbitration
Rules. The Swiss Rules have been applied and have evolved
independently from the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. There was thus
no need to include, in the revised Swiss Rules, the amendments made to
the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. In fact, the purpose of the revision
was to draw on the experience acquired since 2004 to determine what
could be improved, in particular to further increase time and cost
efficiency. There was a consensus that the 2004 Swiss Rules worked well
in practice and needed to be updated in specific areas only. Accordingly,
the process resulted in only a "light" revision.