Commentary on the "Vienna Rules" - Chapter 2 - Arbitration Law of Austria: Practice and Procedure
About the Authors:
Stefan Riegler is a member of the Dispute Resolution Group at Baker & McKenzie in Vienna. He was a partner of Wolf Theiss before joining the firm in 2005. He specializes in the field of dispute resolution, in particular international commercial arbitration. Stefan Riegler graduated from the University of Vienna Law School, the School of International Arbitration and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He published numerous articles on the subject of arbitration, including the forthcoming book Arbitration and Bankruptcy. Stefan Riegler is co-founder and current chairman of YAAP (Young Austrian Arbitration Practitioners) and a member of the Austrian Arbitration Association (ArbAut), the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Young & International.
Alexander Petsche heads Baker & McKenzie’s dispute resolution group in Vienna. He specialises in arbitration and distribution law, in particular franchising. Alexander Petsche is regularly appointed as arbitrator in ad-hoc and institutional arbitrations. He also represents parties before Austrian courts in matters relating to arbitration, including the challenge and enforcement of arbitral awards. In addition, he is an accredited business mediator. Alexander Petsche studied Law at the Universities of Vienna and Paris, and studied Business Administration at the University of Economics, Vienna, and the Lyon Graduate School of Business. He completed post-graduate studies at the College of Europe in Bruges. Alexander Petsche publishes regularly on international litigation and arbitration and has written more than 70 publications on various other business law topics.
Alice A. Fremuth-Wolf is an arbitrator and mediator in Vienna, Austria. Having studied law at the University of Vienna and at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LLM), she served as an assistant at the Institute of Civil Procedural Law at the Law Faculty of Vienna University and worked as an associate with Wolf Theiss (Vienna) and Baker & McKenzie (Vienna) before opening her own law firm in 2004. She has acted as arbitrator and party-representative in international commercial arbitration proceedings in English and German and is also a qualified mediator. She has authored articles and books on arbitration and is co-editor of Arbitration Law and Practice in Central and Eastern Europe. She also lectures at the Law Faculty of Vienna University, coaching the team of Vienna University for the annual Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot. Besides being a founding member of the Young Austrian Arbitration Practitioners (YAAP), she is member of several international arbitration associations.
Martin Platte is a member of the Dispute Resolution Group at Baker & McKenzie in Vienna. He specializes in the field of dispute resolution, in particular in international commercial arbitration and sports-related disputes. He joined Baker & McKenzie in 2005 after having worked in the international arbitration group of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw in London for two years. Martin Platte graduated from the University of Vienna Law School and received a degree in European law from the University of Leuven (Belgium). He obtained an LL.M. degree from the University of London (London School of Economics). Martin Platte published numerous articles on the subject of international commercial arbitration and three books on the topic, including Enforcement of International Arbitration Awards – The New York Convention of 1958 and the forthcoming book Guidelines to Anti-Doping Law. Martin Platte is a member of the Austrian Arbitration Association (ArbAut), the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Young & International.
Christoph Liebscher is head of arbitration of Wolf Theiss. Having obtained an MBA at Insead (Fontainebleau), he had worked in management positions in Germany, France, former Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other European countries before returning to the legal profession. He was and is involved in arbitrations as counsel and arbitrator under many jurisdictions including the Czech and the Slovak Republic, Hungary, France, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Uzbekistan, Germany, England, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. He has gained more than 30 years of experience in domestic/international commercial arbitration and litigation in English, German and French. He has published numerous books and articles on arbitration and business law. Amongst others he is a member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration and of the LCIA. He was a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 2003 – 2009 and president of the Austrian Arbitration Association in 2006 and 2007. He is listed as arbitrator with the international arbitral centers of several economic chambers in Central Europe.
Originally from Arbitration Law of Austria: Practice and Procedure
GENERAL PROVISIONS1
The Institution Article 1
1. The International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber in Vienna (the Vienna International Arbitral Centre – “the Centre”) shall make arrangements for the settlement by arbitration of disputes in which not all contracting parties that concluded the arbitration agreement had their place of business or their normal residence in Austria at the time of conclusion of that agreement. The jurisdiction of the Centre can also be agreed by parties whose place of business or normal residence is in Austria for the settlement of disputes of an international character.
2. If the parties have agreed to the jurisdiction of the Centre, these arbitration rules (“Vienna Rules”) shall thereby apply in the version valid at the time of commencement of the proceedings.
3. If parties which had their place of business or normal residence in Austria at the time of conclusion of the arbitration agreement have agreed that their disputes should be finally settled by a sole arbitrator or an arbitral tribunal to be appointed according to the Vienna Rules, and if the dispute is not international in character, the Permanent Arbitral Tribunal of the Vienna Economic Chamber, or, if another venue in Austria has been agreed, of the regional economic chamber in whose territorial jurisdiction the agreed venue is situated, shall be competent to make arrangements for settlement by arbitration.