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Stockholm Arbitration Report (SAR)

SAR 1999 - 1 Preview Page

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

The 1999 arbitration reform in Sweden does not only mean a new Arbitration Act. It also introduces a number of dispute settlement procedures developed by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ( the SCC Institute).

The main SCC procedure, and the procedure most commonly used, is laid down in the Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Chamber of Commerce (the SCC Rules). Apart from such Rules the SCC Institute has adopted Rules for Expedited Arbitrations, Insurance Arbitration Rules, Mediation Rules and Procedures and Services under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The whole dispute resolution package, i.e. the new law and the different new rules and procedures, came into force on 1 April 1999. Reform of the arbitration regime is especially important for two reasons. The first is that arbitration of commercial disputes, and especially among large enterprises and entities, has become more commonly used on the domestic level in Sweden than in most other countries. The second is that in the past quarter of a century Sweden has become the chosen venue for a steadily increasing number of international arbitrations in which both or all parties are non- Swedish. The legitimate requirements of these users, which often rely on longterm contractual commitments, are satisfied by the new Act and the SCC Rules. They offer an efficient, up-to-date and easily comprehensible framework for the arbitral resolution of disputes in Sweden.