Madrid Court of Arbitration (MCA) - National Arbitration Institution Report - World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
Author(s):
Miguel Angel Fernandez Ballesteros
Page Count:
30 pages
Media Description:
1 PDF Download
Published:
November, 2014
Jurisdictions:
Description:
Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
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I. BASIC INFORMATION
A. History and Background of the Institution
The Madrid Court of Arbitration (hereinafter, the “MCA”) was
founded within the fold of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and
Industry in 1989. The MCA is considered as the bedrock of the
institutional arbitration in Spain. After 25 years, the MCA has
obtained a full and comprehensive experience in the administration
of both domestic and international arbitrations.
The MCA is the leading arbitral institution in Spain. As a general
rule, it administers approximately 150 new cases each year and
enjoys a variable aggregated amount that tends to stabilize between
1,000 and 2,000 million euros per year.1 A third of the cases
administered by the MCA are international arbitrations. In
particular, for the year 2012 the Court has provided it services to
more than 400 international companies and administered 180
arbitrations. This docket enabled the MCA to be ranked among
Europe’s five most prominent international institutions. Furthermore,
in 2012 the aggregated amount in dispute exceeded 2.000 million
euros, of which 1.500 million euros owe to international arbitrations.
75% of the arbitrations administered during this year were
terminated in less than a year. This fact clearly contrasts with the
average length of a case pending before the Spanish courts, which
takes almost 6 years to end up.
The nationality of the parties was notably varied: 56% European,
28% Latin-American, 10% Asiatic, and 7% African. Regarding the
matters involved, the baking contracts represented 30% of the
arbitrations, followed by other matters such as Corporate and M&A
arbitration. An increase in the number of energy and natural
resources arbitrations was also noticed. Moreover, the MCA acted as
Appointing Authority 7 times and thus tripled this number in
contrast with previous years.
In addition to the above, the MCA is the only Spanish arbitral
institution with a strong presence overseas. The MCA thereby is a
member of the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration
Institutions (hereinafter, the “IFCAI”). The IFCAI gathers a relevant
part of regional and global arbitral institutions administering
commercial arbitrations.2 Additionally, the MCA is an active member
belonging to the UNCITRAL Working Groups II and III and has acted
as Appointing Authority at the request of the Permanent Court of
Arbitration (hereinafter, the “PCA”). In this regard, it is worth
mentioning that the MCA has signed cooperation agreements with
the CCBC Sao Paulo, the Mexican Arbitration Centre, the Arbitration
Centre of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima, the German DIS, and
the VIAC in Vienna.
The MCA counts with modern facilities and is equipped with the
latest technology available in the market. This clearly contributes to
the proper and efficient development of the arbitration proceedings.
In addition, the MCA is the only arbitral institution in Spain using the
TAO-OAM arbitration system (Online Arbitration Management). This
system permits the arbitration to be administered online, and thus
saves time and money. The TAO-OAM system is used whether the
parties so agree. It does not entail additional costs and guarantees
the confidentiality of the proceedings.
Furthermore, in 2010 the MCA signed a collaboration agreement
with the Information and Communication Technology industry
associations (AETIC, AEC, AUTELSI and ALETI) in order to create an
ICT Section. This event turned the MCA into the only Spanish and
Latin-American Court with a specialized section to resolve disputes
arising out of the Information and Communication Technology Sector.