Originally from Between East and West: Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke

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I. INTRODUCTION

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (the “SCC Institute”) was founded in 1917. At the beginning, the SCC Institute handled mostly domestic and Nordic-regional cases. It started to expand when Ulf Franke became Secretary General in 1975. Ulf Franke has run the SCC Institute very successfully all these years since then.

The most important and significant event in the development of the SCC Institute into a favoured venue for international arbitrations occurred in 1977. At that time the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and the USSR Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“USSR Chamber”) agreed to recommend their respective members to include in their commercial agreements a standard clause to resolve disputes in Stockholm. This agreement was the result of a study of the Swedish Arbitration Act, which began in 1973 with the help of the SCC Institute.

After the AAA and the USSR Chamber entered into their agreement in 1977, the Chinese arbitration institute, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”), also became interested in Sweden as a forum for the resolution of Chinese-related disputes. It has since become customary for Chinese companies to choose the SCC Institute. It is now possible to say that Ulf Franke’s appointment in 1975 was the start of what has become a fantastic period of development for the SCC Institute.

Mr. Howard Holzmann (AAA), Professor Sergei Lebedev (USSR Chamber) and Professor Tang Houzhi (CIETAC) have been leaders in this development. All three were honoured for this in 2003 when they received the Order of the Polar Star from His Majesty the King of Sweden at a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.