Originally from Baker & McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook 2010-2011

A. LEGISLATION, TRENDS AND TENDENCIES

Commercial arbitration in Venezuela continues to be governed by the Law on Commercial Arbitration (“LCA”), published on April 7, 1998 in Official Gazette No. 36.530. This law is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. The LCA introduced commercial arbitration in Venezuela, and distinguished between “institutional” and “independent” arbitration. According to LCA Article 2, institutional arbitration is “conducted through the arbitration centers to which this Law refers, or those that may be created by other laws,” whereas independent arbitration is “governed by rules agreed by the parties, without intervention of the arbitration centers.” If the parties elect institutional arbitration, all matters will be governed by the provisions in the arbitration regulations of the arbitration center to which the parties have submitted the controversy. The LCA is not limited to regulating internal or domestic commercial arbitration. Its provisions may also be applied to international commercial arbitration. Some commentators draw this conclusion based on the historical backgound of the LCA.