Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

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I.  BASIC INFORMATION 

A. History and Background of the Institution

On 7th December 1988, the Spanish Arbitration Act 1988  was enacted. Unlike the previous Spanish Arbitration Act 1953,  the new law admitted institutional arbitration: “[i]f the parties have not expressly opted for de jure arbitration, the arbitrators shall decide ex aequo et bono, unless the administration of the arbitration is entrusted to a corporation or association, in which case the arbitration shall be governed by its rules” (Article 4.2 of the Spanish Arbitration Act 1988).

As a consequence, on 15 February 1989, the Bar Association of Barcelona,  the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation,  the Notarial Association of Catalonia  and the Council of Bar Associations of Catalonia  founded the Catalan Arbitration Association (Associació Catalana per a l’Arbitratge). In June 2009 and in April 2012, respectively, the Autonomous Deanery of Company and Property Registrars of Catalonia  and the Intercollegiate Association of Professional Associations of Catalonia  were admitted as full members of the Catalan Arbitration Association.

Individuals representing the Association’s members who meet the necessary requirements are members of the Barcelona Arbitration Court (Tribunal Arbitral de Barcelona; hereinafter, TAB), a permanent body that institutionally conducts the administration of all arbitrations in civil and commercial matters. Initially, the TAB was governed by the Regulations of 15th February 1989. Due to changes introduced by the Spanish Arbitration Act of 2003,  the Regulations of 1989 were replaced by the TAB’s current Rules of 26th July 2004 (hereinafter, TAB’s Rules of 2004).