Program from the Copenhagen Arbitration Day can be found here

Slides from the Copenhagen Arbitration Day can be found by clicking on each of the speeches below

Professor dr.jur. Mads Bryde Andersen, University of Copenhagen

The Accused Arbitrator: Will the Increased Focus on Arbitrator Liability Affect

Arbitration as We Know It?

Rechtsanwältin Ulrike Gantenberg, Gantenberg Dispute Experts

Approaches to Best Practice for Facilitating Settlements in Arbitration

Professor dr.jur. Amund Bjøranger Tørum, Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law,

University of Oslo

Jura Novit Curia – Three Perspectives

Michael Ostrove, Global Co-Chair of International Arbitration at DLA Piper and

Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration

The Biggest Challenges Facing Arbitral Institutions in the Next Decade

The future of arbitration in Denmark looks bright, particularly considering that the number of cases has generally risen over the years, the expertise among Danish law firms and arbitrators has increased considerably, and case law consistently demonstrates that the Danish courts recognise arbitration as an equally worthy alternative to court proceedings.

By Jeppe Skadhauge, Chairman & Steffen Pihlblad, Secretary General

The DIA was founded over 40 years ago and has led many initiatives over the years to promote institutional arbitration and other dispute resolution methods for the benefit of business.

We have recently adopted the updated Rules of Arbitration that focus on best practice, pragmatism and efficiency.

Most recently, we have prepared new Rules for Express Arbitration, which aim to respond to parties’ requests for quicker and more cost-effective dispute resolution, primarily in low-value disputes. We provide further details on these rules and their innovations as part of this newsletter.

Also in this newsletter, Professor, dr.jur. Torsten Iversen discusses, among other points, that both the business perspective and the possibility of experiencing an international legal approach generate a broad interest in arbitration among university students.

The future of arbitration in Denmark thus looks bright, particularly considering that the number of cases has generally risen over the years, the expertise among Danish law firms and arbitrators has increased considerably, and case law consistently demonstrates that the Danish courts recognise arbitration as an equally worthy alternative to court proceedings.

The DIA supports this development. Not least through the ongoing quality assurance of our case handling, but also through other initiatives that can contribute to companies choosing arbitration to an even higher degree and to foreign companies in particular consistently regarding Denmark as an attractive forum for dispute resolution.

By subscribing to our newsletter, you will receive DIA updates and articles on noteworthy arbitration issues.

The principal language of the newsletter is Danish. Certain articles may be in both Danish and English, or only in English, if most appropriate.

Follow us also on LinkedIn for notifications.

Happy reading!

The new Rules for Express Arbitration (the Express Rules) aim to respond to the parties’ oft request for quicker and more cost-effective means of dispute resolution. We answer six key questions here.

1. What are the Express Rules for?

The Express Rules are primarily for low-value disputes. They are rules that set a quicker procedure than the standard rules (the DIA’s Rules of Arbitration) without compromising fundamental principles of arbitration.

2. How do the Express Rules set a quicker procedure than the standard rules?

The Express Rules, by default, set a quicker procedure through, for example:

• shorter requirements for submissions such as the Statement of Claim and the Statement of Defence
• deadlines of 10 calendar days such as for the Statement of Defence and for the award
• a specific provision that the tribunal can limit the parties’ ability to present submissions, documents and other evidence
• no tribunal-appointed experts are to participate in the case, unless the parties agree otherwise
• no oral hearing is to take place, unless the parties agree otherwise
• introduction of a process in less complex cases, where the tribunal confirms in the form of an arbitral award by consent one of the parties’ proposals regarding how the party considers that the dispute should be resolved, further to Art. 18.

3. What is the process at Art. 18?

Art. 18 of the Express Rules innovatively introduces a process, in less complex cases, where the parties agree to settle a dispute fully or partially. If the parties wish to make use of this process, the parties are jointly to request the tribunal to accept that the dispute shall be so resolved. If the parties make this joint request, each party submits to the tribunal a brief reasoned proposal stating how the party considers that the dispute should be resolved. The tribunal, within 10 calendar days of receiving the last proposal, selects the one proposal, out of those submitted, that the tribunal considers to express the most reasonable determination of the parties’ dispute, whether fully or partially further to what the parties agreed. The tribunal then confirms the selected proposal in the form of an arbitral award by consent.

4. Are the parties’ proposals confidential under the Art. 18 process?

The tribunal treats the parties’ proposals as confidential among the parties until the tribunal confirms one of the proposals in the form of an arbitral award by consent. The tribunal can only provide each party’s proposal to the other parties once the tribunal has selected which proposal shall be confirmed in the form of an arbitral award by consent.

5. Can a party unilaterally ask the tribunal to follow the process at Art. 18?

A tribunal can only follow the process at Art. 18 if all the parties to the dispute agree that they make a joint request to the tribunal to accept the use of the process.

6. What if the tribunal cannot select any of the proposals owing to unreasonableness, invalidity, illegality, etc.?

The tribunal has discretion, further to Art. 15(4), to close proceedings under the Express Rules on its own motion at any point during the case, without rendering an award, and refer the parties to the use of other dispute resolution methods such as the DIA’s Rules of Arbitration. This discretion applies to any proceedings under the Express Rules, whether the process at Art. 18 is used or not.

The Express Rules can be found on www.danisharbitration.dk For further information about the DIA or the Rules contact the Secretary General of the DIA Steffen Pihlblad on +45 21636698 or spi@dansiharbitration.dk.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration and ICC Denmark are honoured to present the programme for Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2022.

The premier event of the Danish arbitration calendar takes place on 15 September 2022 at the House of Industry in the heart of Copenhagen.

Lunch seminars will precede the conference, as customary, and drinks and dinner follow at the historic Scandic Palace Hotel.

Register here.

Full programme here.

We are delighted to announce that the Danish Institute of Arbitration will jointly host a webinar on Evidence in International Arbitration with New York University’s Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law, and with Copenhagen Business School – CBS Law.

The webinar, which will include presentations from esteemed arbitration scholars and practitioners, will take place on 30 June 2022 from 15:30 – 17:15 (CET) / 9:30 – 11:15 (NY Time).

Participation is free. For more details and registration, see the invitation here.

Join if you can.

Hamburg Arbitration Circle is hosting a webinar on 1 June 2022 9:00 – 10:00 entitled “The HAC meets … the Danish Abritration Community”.

Dr Sven Oswald will present a practitioner’s overview of arbitration in Germany, and the DIA’s Secretary-General Steffen Pihlblad will be discussing recent headlines in Danish arbitration with Henriette Gernaa of Gorrissen Federspiel.

Participation is free. Sign up by 30 May 2022 by sending an email to o.korte@skwschwarz.de. For more details, see the invitation here.

New Rules of Arbitration of the Danish Institute of Arbitration

The DIA has adopted a new set of Rules of Arbitration. The Rules, which will replace the 2013 Rules of Arbitration Procedure, have been formulated in accordance with the standards of Danish and international arbitration practice. The Rules will enter into force 13 April 2021 and will be applicable on arbitrations that are commenced on 13 April 2021 or thereafter, unless otherwise is agreed between the parties.

• The number of provisions has increased from 36 to 52. This increase is primarily due to a wish to avoid long and complicated articles and thereby to increase the readability of the Rules. The placement of a number of provisions has been changed in order to provide a more logical and intuitive structure of the Rules.
• Written communication must be quick and efficient. Therefore, written communication shall as a main rules be made by e-mail or another electronic means, see Article 3.
• The statement of claim shall be submitted in the language that is used in the Parties’ arbitration agreement, see Article 5. If the arbitration agreement is formulated in English, the statement of claim must thus also be submitted in English, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
• The Parties have a duty to disclosure any third party funding in order to minimise the risk of justifiable doubts regarding the arbitrator’s impartiality and independence, see Article 20 (4).
• In special cases, the Institute’s Chair’s Committee may exclude a new og additional party-representatives from participating in the arbitration, see. Article 23.
• The arbitrators’ fee and the charges of the DIA have been increased and formulated into a separate Schedule of Fees and Charges, and can be found on the DIA’s website.

The Rules of Arbitration can be found here.

Roschier has published its sixth edition of Roschier Dispute Index 2021, investigating Nordic companies’ practises and trends in dispute resolution. Four points of interesting are the use of arbitration rules, ADR, digital tools, and diversity.

The survey shows that the use of arbitration by Danish companies has increased. All Nordic respondents show a high level of trust in their domestic arbitration institutional rules. This is also the case with Danish companies where 56% prefer the Rules of Danish Institute of Arbitration.

The use of ADR, for instance mediation, has remained more or less stable over the past years. Only 20% of all respondents across the Nordic countries report “yes” to having used ADR in the past 2 years. This seems to be in contradiction with the very good experiences at the Danish Institute of Arbitration with the use of ADR, even when the parties, to begin with, are reluctant to use mediation.

Across the Nordic Countries, the respondents’ report that disputes are becoming more complex and the use of settlement has increased, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Danish respondent note that they are careful in selecting which disputes to litigate, but when they litigate, they do so with full force. In addition, there has been an increase in the use of digital tools. At least 50% of the Danish respondent report having used videoconferencing for the taking of witness or expert evidence and used file sharing systems to organize the case files. In the beginning of the pandemic, hearings at the Danish Institute of Arbitration were postponed. As it became clear that the pandemic would last longer than people expected many hearings were conducted as physical or virtual meetings, and the Institute gained very good experiences with conducting remote hearings.

Finally, when asked about the importance of diversity in choice of arbitrator, only 10% of Danish respondents considered diversity important. The question about gender diversity when appointing arbitrators has been on the Danish Institute of Arbitration’s agenda for a number of years, since the Institute committed themselves to the pledge, which was introduced by the arbitration community in 2015, on promoting equal representation in arbitration.

You can read the Roschier Dispute Index 2021 on https://www.roschier.com/. For questions about the Danish Institute of Arbitration please contact Steffen Pihlblad on spi@danisharbitration.dk.

In 2020, 134 cases were submitted to the Danish Institute of Arbitration, which is an increase in caseload compared to 2019. The cases concern a wide array of different commercial topics. Among other things, the DIA has seen an increase in disputes concerning shareholder agreements and cooperation agreements. The duration of time for rendering a final award is roughly on a par with the 2019 statistics. For domestic cases, the average time is 10 months. For international cases, which are typically more complex in nature, the average case handling time is about 13 months. For further details on the 2020 statistics view link:

https://voldgiftsinstituttet.dk/en/about/statistics2017/

Due to the Covid Pandemic and after having monitored the situation closely, the organizers of the Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2021 have decided to postpone the conference, which was scheduled to take place April 2021.

We will announce a new date at a later stage, when the Danish Government once again consider it safe for people to meet in larger groups, and where we hopefully are past social distancing, facemasks, and travel restrictions, etc.

We look forward to our future Copenhagen Arbitration Days and we aim it to be as memorable and successful as back in 2019. We wish you all the best and hope for a turn in the pandemic during spring and summer.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration is happy to announce that we will jointly host a webinar on “Due Process as a Limit to Discretion in International Commercial Arbitration – A Scandinavian Perspective” together with New York University’s Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law and Young Arbitrators Copenhagen.

The webinar, which will include presentations from esteemed arbitration scholars and practitioners, will take place on 2 February 2021 from 3:00 – 4:15 pm (CET) / 9:00 – 10:15 am (NY Time).

Please see the attached invitation for more information and details on registration.

We look forward to seeing you there.

On 29 June 2020, the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) will relocate to brand new premises at Midtermolen 1, 5^th floor, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.

The premises are larger and better equipped to comply with the parties’ needs in arbitration cases and mediations. In addition, brand new telephone and video conferencing facilities have been installed.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming companies, lawyers, arbitrators, experts, mediators etc. to the new premises.

The telephone number of the DIA’s switchboard number, mobile numbers and e-mail addresses of the DIA’s etc. and the address of the DIA’s website is the still the same. The direct telephone numbers of the staff have however changed as follows:

• Steffen Pihlblad:                        (+45) 3242 2790
• Anette Egebjerg:                        (+45) 3242 2791
• David Nicholas Sort Nørlem:    (+45) 3242 2792
• Jutta Thomsen:                           (+45) 3242 2793
• Julie Skov Breum:                       (+45) 3242 2794

In connection with the updating of meeting facilities, a new pricing policy for the rental of meeting rooms has been adopted. You can find the policy here.

The relocation will be celebrated with a reception after the summer holidays. Further information will be announced in the near future.

Any questions to the above can be directed to General Secretary Steffen Pihlblad on telephone (+45) 2163 6698.

From 20 April 2020 the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) will gradualy open up for physical attendance and meetings.

The DIA handles cases and answers inquiries by telephone and email in the usual manner.

The DIA is in ongoing dialogue with arbitrators and parties on the conduct of physical meetings.

If a physical meeting is to be held at the DIA, this must be done in a health sound way, including any goverment decided restrictions on the number of participants and possibly combined with telephone and / or video conferencing equipment. The DIA will ensure that hand rubbing alcohol at meetings is available and ensure appropriate distance between tables and chairs, etc., so that recommendations of the authorities can be complied with.

The DIA is monitoring the situation closely and will return with further information on an ongoing basis.

Copenhagen, 20 April 2020

The Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) handles cases and answers inquiries by telephone and email in the usual manner.

In accordance with the Prime Minister of Denmark’s recommendations, the DIA’s staff is working from home – for the time being until April 13, 2020 – which is why the DIA is closed for inquiries in person, unless otherwise is expressly agreed with the DIA.

The DIA is in ongoing dialogue with arbitrators and parties on the conduct of physical meetings.

For the time being, the arbitral tribunals have postponed physical meetings until the situation is normalized. Alternatively, the arbitral tribunals and the parties may consider whether cases may be decided in whole or in part on a written basis. Additionally, it may also be considered whether meetings can be advantageously held through the use of telecommunications.

The DIA is monitoring the situation closely and will return with further information on an ongoing basis.

During the period March 13 – April 13, 2020 (both days included), the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) can be contacted by telephone and e-mail, but the DIA is closed for personal inquiries, unless otherwise is expressly agreed.

The DIA monitors the situation closely and will provide further information on an ongoing basis.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration and ICC Denmark are delighted to host Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2020 (“CAD”), on 2 April.

Click here for registration for the event and to find the full program, that also includes the option of Lunch Seminars.

In addition the 2^nd Nordic Arbitration Day (“NAD”) will take place in Copenhagen on 3 April. Registration for both CAD and NAD is possible by use of the same link.

CAD 2020 takes place at a new venue; at the headquarters of the Confederation of Danish Industry, situated right in the center of the city of Copenhagen, just between the City Hall Square (Danish: “Rådhuspladsen”) and its brand new Metro Station (Danish: “Rådhuspladsen Station”) and the famous Tivoli Gardens.

Admission to the conference, that begins at 15:00 CET (registration from 14:30) is free, but a fixed price of DKK 750 for participation in the drinks reception and dinner (from 18:30 CET) at the historical Hotel Scandic Palace is applicable.

Update 12 March 2020: The event is CANCELLED

Statistics for 2019 (and previous years) can be found here

After the memorable Copenhagen Arbitration Days in 2018 and 2019, The Danish Institute of Arbitration and ICC Denmark are delighted to host “Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2020”, on 2 April.

This year, we are once again able to present some very distinguished speakers from the international arbitration environment, such as Carita Wallgren-Lindholm, Clare Ambrose and Mads Bryde Andersen together with a number of leading practitioners from Norway and Denmark.

This year, the event takes place at a new venue; at the headquarters of the Confederation of Danish Industry, situated right in the center of the city of Copenhagen, just between the City Hall Square (Danish: “Rådhuspladsen”) and its brand new Metro Station (Danish: “Rådhuspladsen Station”) and the famous Tivoli Gardens.

Copenhagen Arbitration Day offers an outstanding opportunity to explore fundamental issues in international arbitration, to network and to be updated on international trends within the field of international arbitration. Like in 2018 and 2019, there will be a drinks reception and a dinner after the conference. Admission to the conference is free, but a fixed price for participation in the dinner will be applicable.

Stay tuned for a full programme and registration
*
Update: Click here for full programme and registration

The staff of the Danish Institute of Arbitration has today celebrated the Secretary General’s, Steffen Pihlblad’s, 50 years birthday with balloons and a present.

The DIA is always on the run
The staff of the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) participated in the 5 x 5 km relay “DHL Stafetten”, in Copenhagen, in a joint partnership for the event with the Danish Bar and Law Society.

The staff of DIA had a ‘hyggelig’ evening – and of course decent running results.

The Faroe Islands
The staff of the DIA will on 31 August 2019 – 03 September 2019 travel to the Faroe Islands.

The DIA will among other things visit the law firm, Advokatskrivstovan, and DIA case handler, Jutta Thomsen’s home island.

Due to this trip abroad the staff of the DIA will have limited access to emails and the premises of the DIA will be closed for personal inquiries on 02 and 03 September 2019.

If you have an urgent matter, please contact Secretary General Steffen Pihlblad at phone number (+45) 2163 6698

On behalf of Young ICCA, the Danish Institute of Arbitration invites every one who has an interest in international arbitration to join Young ICCA Skills Training Workshop in Copenhagen, Friday 5th of April 2019. The topic of the workshop is “Written and Oral Advocacy in International Arbitration”, and the workshop will take place at the law firm Gorrissen Federspiel.

There will be coffee breaks and served lunch at the venue free of charge. Furthermore, there will be hosted a cocktail reception afterwards at a different location.

Please click on the link for further details.

https://www.arbitration-icca.org/YoungICCA/EventPages/YoungIcca_5april2019_Copenhagen.html

After the memorable Copenhagen Arbitration Day was launched last year, The Danish Institute of Arbitration and ICC Denmark are delighted to host Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2019, on 04 April.

This year, we are also able to present some very distinguished speakers from the international arbitration environment and a number of leading practitioners from Denmark.

The event takes place once again in the historical building Børsen, situated right in the center of the city of Copenhagen, next to the Danish Parliament and the Supreme Court. Admission to the conference is free.

Copenhagen Arbitration Day offers an outstanding opportunity to explore fundamental issues in international arbitration, to network and to be updated on international trends within the field of international arbitration. The dinner after the meeting at Restaurant Søren K can be booked during the registration. Please be aware the dinner has limited capacity. The price for participating in the drinks reception and the dinner at Restaurant Søren K is DKK 750 (EUR 100).

For a full programme, registration and or any hotel reservation, click here

Counsel David Nicholas Sort Nørlem and Counsel Kristine Gundersen from the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) will attend the Nordic Arbitration Day in Stockholm on 18 January 2019.

The Nordic Arbitration Day is a full-day conference for young practitioners – age 45 or under – with interesting seminars, panel discussions and perfect opportunities to expand your Nordic network. The aim of the Nordic Arbitration Day is to promote arbitration in the Nordics, create a cross-jurisdictional platform for young practitioners, and overall strengthen the Nordic arbitration community.

China has in recent years become an increasingly important trade partner for countries all over the world, including Denmark. As more trade can result in more disputes, the Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) was delighted to host a visit on 22 October 2018 from a delegation of representatives from the China Changchun Arbitration Commission (“CCAC”). The purpose of the Delegation’s visit was to learn about the DIA and arbitration in Denmark.

The picture below is from the meeting and shows the Deputy Director of CCAC, Ms. Ma Jin-Zhi (right), receiving a signed copy of the book “Arbitration in Denmark” from Secretary General of the DIA, Mr. Steffen Pihlblad, who has co-authored the book.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration (DIA) is co-organizing the 2018 Nordic Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China with the other arbitration institute’s in the Nordic region and the Beijing International Arbitration Center (BIAC).

The Nordic Summit is a one day event and takes place on 18 June 2018 in Stockholm. It unites experts from China and the Nordic countries to present and discuss the developments of commercial dispute resolution in China. The program includes different topics such as Energy Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Construction Dispute. Among the speakers from Denmark are the independent arbitrator Niels Schiersing and Attorney Mathias Steinø.

The event is tailor made for arbitration professionals who want to get an insight to the evolution of arbitration in China. The event also provides very good opportunities to network with high ranking representatives from the Nordic Arbitral institutions and the BIAC.

You can find the Program here. The event also includes lunch buffet and cocktail reception.

You can register through this link:  http://annualreport.bjac.org.cn/en#signup

The Registration fee covers the conference, coffee break, lunch buffet and cocktail reception:

• Institute/Judge/Lawyer/In-house Counsel: EUR 100/CNY 800
• Academia/Student: EUR 20/CNY 160

A summary of Copenhagen Arbitration Day 2018 can be found here.

Next year on 04 April 2019, the Danish Institute of Arbitration and ICC Denmark will once again host a joint event on international arbitration in Copenhagen.

More information on how to register etc. will follow.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) is the proud sponsor of Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which is a worldwide competition for law students to compete and provide international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes.

The DIA will be present in Vienna, Austria, where the finals will take place 23 – 29 March 2018.

Prior to the finals, the DIA will attend the Danish law firm Plesner’s Pre-Moot on 8 – 9 March 2018.

The DIA was also present as sponsor and acted as arbitrators in Aarhus, Denmark, when Aarhus University hosted a Pre-Moot. The picture is from the reception at DLA Piper (Denmark) of the winning team from Aarhus University who among others won over a university team from Germany in the Pre-Moot Final.

Statistics for 2017 (and previous years) can be found here

The next International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA) will take place in Copenhagen from 25-29 September 2017, hosted by the Danish Institute of Arbitration.

The five-day Congress is expected to draw around 300 delegates to the Danish capital.

ICMA, which is held every 2 or 3 years, is an important forum for maritime arbitrators, lawyers and for the world wide shipping industry in which to deliberate on and exchange experience, views and news.

Aside from providing a forum for discussion and high quality papers, ICMA also includes a social program for accompanying persons and delegates. A black tie dinner is a tradition, as are one or two cocktail parties.

Please register here in due time and save money.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration (“DIA”) has in 2016 received a record high number of cases, i.e. 135 cases, which is an increase of 18% compared to the average submission of cases  the previous 5 years.

The record high number of cases is partly caused by the fact that the DIA has received an increment of international arbitration cases.

The statistics for 2016 (and other years) can be found here.

Seminar Young Arbitrators Copenhagen, 18 November 2016

Attorney Jimmy Skjold Hansen (Plesner) started by presenting the framework of the discussion, i.e. the role of the Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal.

The Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal (hereafter “Secretary”) is usually a lawyer who works with the President of the Arbitral Tribunal. He or she assists the arbitral tribunal in order to minimize the time that the arbitrators should spent on the case. According to the Queen Mary University’ studies, 35% of arbitration cases have a Secretary and the practice is generally accepted.

The problem lies in the definition of tasks. Everybody agrees that the Secretary should do administrative tasks. But what does “administrative” mean? Can the Secretary summarize the parties’ opinions or write memos on point of laws? Does it extend to writing a first draft of the final arbitral award? Does it involve attending or maybe even participating to the deliberations of the arbitral tribunal?

In arbitration, the Parties appoint the arbitrators for their qualifications. That mandate is personal and carries a duty of confidentiality. It gives the personally-nominated arbitrators competence to decide the case and allows transparency in the arbitral proceedings.

The problem is that the Secretary is not appointed by the Parties but proposed by the President of the Arbitral Tribunal. What rules apply to this function?

There are usually not any provisions in the arbitration clauses or the applicable arbitration act. Arbitral institutions sometimes have adopted guidelines or a declaration of impartiality and independence like at the Danish Institute of Arbitration. Associations like the Young ICCA drafted the “Best Practices for the Appointment and Use of Arbitral Secretaries”. All the documents that exist are lists of Dos and Don’t.

In case of problem or doubt regarding the work performed by a Secretary, who is competent to judge on it? The Parties, the arbitrators, the national judge or the arbitral institutions? There is a need for a clear answer and there is none at the moment.

Attorney Thomas Stouten (Houthoff Buruma) is a lawyer based in the Netherlands. He is a member of the team of attorneys representing the Russian State before the Dutch courts regarding the annulment of the arbitral award in the Yukos case. The Dutch courts have annulled the award based on jurisdiction but another argument advanced by the Russian State regarded the role of the Secretary.

As a preliminary and according to Dutch case law, the arbitrator’s mandate is strictly personal, the number of arbitrators must be an odd number and all arbitrators must participate in the rendering of the award and sign it.

In the Yukos case, the Parties first accepted to appoint a Secretary from the PCA. The President of the Arbitral Tribunal then asked whether the Parties could accept that he is assisted by a younger colleague from his law firm; which the Parties accepted. There was therefore a second Secretary appointed. According to the rules applicable to the case, all of the involved were paid by the hour.

Upon the rendering of the arbitral award, the Russian State realized that the two secretaries had worked a substantial amount of hours on the case and therefore requested a detailed specification of their time sheets. The PCA was not authorized to disclose such information but the second Secretary, as a lawyer, was. It showed that he had performed extensive tasks. Moreover, a linguistic study indicated that he had drafted almost the whole arbitral award, including the reasons.

The Russian State argued therefore that the Arbitral Tribunal had breached its personal mandate and that the second Secretary had overstepped his competence.

The other party argued that the claim was based on conjecture only and that both parties had given their consent to the secretaries’ work in the case. They moreover argued that the claim was forfeit since, even if valid, it should have been raised during the proceedings and not after.

The Dutch courts have not rendered any decision on the matter but it gives an illustration of the question about the extent of the role of the Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal.

The speakers proceeded then to a debate.

As pointed out by Attorney Jimmy Skjold Hansen in his presentation, there are no clear legal-binding rules on the question of the role of a Secretary.

One could ask whether the role of the Secretary could be compared to the role of the clerks of a national court. The nature of the two systems is, however different. A national judge handles a case as representative of the state whereas the arbitrators are appointed directly and personally by the parties for their expertise. Moreover, when the arbitrators accept a case, they commit themselves to be available and they are paid directly by the parties for their work.

The speakers compared therefore several studies as to whether different tasks where accepted to be performed by a Secretary. The answers to the different questions were quite different depending on the studies and on their date. Some examples follow:

• Legal research: perceived by most as a task performed by junior lawyers or even an intern, the answers from the polls were not as unanimous as one could expect.
• Attend the deliberation: the polls were positive which is understandable if the Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal only is there to observe.
• Participate to the deliberation: the polls were negative since the mandate to decide the case is given personally to the arbitrators.
• Write substantive part of the award: the polls were negative since the mandate to judge the case is given personally to the arbitrators. However, some in the audience were of the opinion that there would be no harm if the Secretary were to follow the decision reached personally between the arbitrators during the deliberation.
• Write non substantive parts: perceived by most as an administrative task since it only involves recapitulating the dates and acts performed during the proceedings, the answers from the polls were not as unanimous as one could expect.

The conclusion of the speakers was again that a reform was highly needed to establish clear rules on the role of the Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal.

Alexander Lecture “Use and Abuse of Due Process in International Arbitration” by Attorney Bernardo Cremades, CIArb London, 16 November 2016.

Use…

Due process is the backbone of arbitration since the arbitrators must conduct the proceedings in such a way that the arbitral award is enforceable. It plays a role in every step of the proceedings but is of particular importance in procedural matters such as for instance award on jurisdiction, decision on bifurcation and decision on evidence.

Bernardo Cremades pointed out that: “The difference between flexibility and chaos is not always really clear”. Indeed, the content of due process can be discussed at length and varies from common law to civil law procedure. In international arbitration, it is based first and foremost upon the will of the parties and it is the arbitrators that apply it, taking into account the circumstances of the case and the arbitrators’ own view of due process.

When a breach of due process occurs, it is the parties that suffer the consequences of the breach. They are the one paying the costs of the proceedings.

… and abuse of due process

Due process has become the lawyers’ threat of choice to what the arbitrators fear the most – the annulation of the award. If the arbitrators refuse to accept the lawyers’ demands to change the proceedings, the lawyers start talking of due process.

Those threats arise often when the arbitrators must decide whether to accept late submissions, new evidence late in the process or additional experts.

As an arbitrator, Bernardo Cremades likes to tell the lawyers: “Remember that you are here to convince us, not to confuse us”. Indeed, the problem of documentary evidence is particularly topical as regards due process. Arbitral proceedings are plagued by “documentary tsunamis” that only confuse the arbitrators. The arbitrators have the role of moderators but lack powers of the national judges. It is, therefore, important to have the support of the national judges and law systems but not all the countries are pro-arbitration.

Due process also plays a role as regards independence and impartiality of the arbitrators. If a party hires a new lawyer to a pending arbitration but the new lawyer creates a conflict of interest with an already appointed arbitrator, then it will usually be the arbitrator that must resign. Why? Why not find another lawyer?

Of course, arbitrators should also accept constructive criticism. Some arbitrators act criminally like in the Bernard Tapie case from France and others prefer playing Sudoku or answering e-mails rather than listening during hearings.

As a result of delay in the proceedings and too much documentary evidence, arbitrations cost too much and those macro-proceedings threaten parties’ access to justice. As a consequence, third party funding has found its way into arbitration, but this poses new deontology problems and sometimes only increase the costs.

The Secretary-General of the DIA Steffen Pihlblad (on the picture: 1^st from the left) was honored to receive the visit, on the 4^th of July 2016, of a delegation from Xiamen, China, headed by Mr. LIN Rui, Vice Mayor of Xiamen Municipal People’s Government (2^nd from the left). The other prominent members of the delegation were, among others: Mr. LIN Jianwen, Deputy Director General & Secretary General of Xiamen Arbitration Commission (1^st on the right) and Ms. WU Lixue, Vice President of the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court.

The participants compared the practice of both arbitrations institutes and had fruitful discussions on how to handle challenges regarding the administration of commercial disputes through arbitration and mediation. The delegation members showed a particular interest in maritime arbitration, therefore the DIA hopes to see them again at the ICMA 2017, which takes place 25^th-29^th September 2017 in Copenhagen.

What sort of arbitration?

On 19 May 2016, the offices of LETT Law Firm hosted a conference organized by the Young Arbitrators Copenhagen (YAC) on “What sort of Arbitration?”. The four speakers presented each a different sort of arbitration in Denmark. A lot of participants expressed their big interest in the topics, since most of the lawyers are specialized in one type of disputes and tend to not know about the others.

Professor Mads Bryde Andersen from Copenhagen University started the conference by presenting arbitration in gas disputes. This type of arbitration is highly specialized and deals with gas as a commodity.

Attorney Anders Bjørn Nielsen from Hafnia Law Firm presented maritime arbitration. It includes a wide range of different disputes concerning, among others, construction of ships and carriage of goods. By tradition, maritime arbitration is mainly held in London, but the Scandinavian countries are thinking of creating a regional alternative.

Assistant Professor Sylvie Cécile Cavaleri from Copenhagen University presented arbitration of construction disputes. The Danish standard constructions contracts (AB and ABR) are currently being revised and it sets into questions the functioning of the Arbitration Court for Construction and Engineering. The conclusion of the intervention was a proposal to revise the system so it becomes pure arbitration or pure domestic courts. Not the status quo which is a blending of both and detrimental to the international cases in particular.

Finally, Attorney Morten Eisensee from Poul Schmidt Law Firm presented arbitration of labor unions disputes. In rare and really specific occurrences, it is possible to arbitrate labor disputes. However, like in the case of the Arbitration Court for Construction and Engineering, this type of arbitration is tainted by rules from the domestic court system.

On 7 April 2016, over 30 senior in-house counsel from various leading international companies met for a half-day workshop in the heart of Copenhagen to discuss the success factors for optimized negotiation results in international conflicts. The workshop, which was hosted by the Danish Institute of Arbitration and Berlin-based PFROMM NEGOTIATIONS, looked into the diverse challenges of in-house counsel when facing international conflicts and protracted negotiations. Dr. René A. Pfromm and Marc Ohrendorf identified eight success factors in settling international disputes and how to overcome the risks arising from information asymmetry, frustrated parties and suboptimal negotiation techniques.

In a real-life-based simulation featuring a commercial dispute between a European and an Asian shareholder of a joint venture, the participants put their skills into practice. Despite the difficulties arising from cultural differences, distrust and differing business ideas and visions, the participants achieved favorable settlements, applying value-creation strategies and tactics that laid the ground for potential future work and maintaining a healthy relationship between the parties. The workshop also identified effective methods to deal with intercultural difference, to influence one’s negotiation opponents and to send strong signals while finding a beneficial solution outside of traditional litigation. Steffen Pihlblad, Secretary General of the DIA, shared his experience of international conflicts and how to solve them through negotiations and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. The event concluded with a reception for networking, experience exchange and many discussions among the participants about their individual experiences and upcoming challenges.

A senior in-house counsel summarized the workshop as: “It was an excellent workshop and I really liked the speakers – they were good at communicating and, even if you knew the topic, they were good at setting new angles.”

For upcoming negotiation events and workshops in Copenhagen, please follow the Danish Institute of Arbitration and PFROMM NEGOTIATIONS on social media.

The DIA and Pfromm Negotiations are pleased to invite you to the workshop “Solving International Disputes through Strategic Negotiations” on 7 April 2016 from 13:00 to 17:30 at the DIA’s premises. The workshop is free of charge but registration is mandatory due to the limited number of seats. Members of the Danish Corporate Counsel Association have priority. For more information and registration, please read the event brochure.

Ordre public and request to set aside an arbitral award

The Danish Supreme Court confirms, in its decision of 28 January 2016, that an arbitral award can only be set aside as contrary to ordre public if there have been such extraordinarily serious mistakes that the arbitral award is manifestly incompatible with the domestic legal system.

The arbitral tribunal has ruled on whether the distribution agreement, as interpreted by the arbitral tribunal’s reasoning, is contrary to EU competition law. The arbitral tribunal interpreted the agreement as meaning that it involved a partnership where both parties undertook some obligations and got some rights, including Taewoong’s duty to inform AH Industries on orders received and to respect AH Industries’ privileged position in relation to customers developed by AH Industries for Taewoong, which limited Taewoong’s rights to benefit from AH Industries’ distribution work without offering AH Industries a reasonable compensation. It was the arbitral tribunal’s analysis of such obligations that they do not conflict with EU competition law (see section 401 of the arbitral award).

The Supreme Court finds that there is no basis for concluding that the arbitral tribunal, in its assessment, has committed such extraordinarily serious mistakes, that the arbitral award is manifestly incompatible with the domestic legal system (ordre public). The Supreme Court therefore finds that the conditions for setting aside the arbitral award as per Section 37 paragraph 2, 2 b) of the Arbitration Act are not satisfied.

Read the Danish Supreme Court’s judgment in PDF

This is an unofficial translation made by the DIA.

In 2013, David Nicholas Sort Noerlem worked at the Danish Institute of Arbitration (DIA) as a student. Afterwards, David worked for two years as a Civil Servant at the Ministry of Justice in Denmark. David returns to the DIA as a full-time Counsel.

Kristine Gundersen worked at the DIA as student until she obtained an LL.M. from the University of Copenhagen in December 2015. Kristine, who is a Norwegian citizen, is now included in the DIA’s team as a full-time Counsel.

The DIA is delighted to welcome David and Kristine as members of the DIA’s team of jurists.

To contac them: https://voldgiftsinstituttet.dk/en/contact/staff/

The Danish Institute of Arbitration co-organizes with the Association for International Arbitration (AIA) a conference on Third Party Funding on 9 June 2016.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration is proud to announce its decision to bid to host the ICCA Congress 2020. Since 2008, the ICCA Congress has not been hosted in Europe, so the DIA has confidence in its chances of hosting this important event in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Furthermore, it is the second time the DIA is bidding and Denmark has never before been the host of an ICCA Congress.

We hope for great support for this bid from the national, regional and international arbitration community. Contact us if you are interested.

The DIA and its partners the Association of Danish Law Firms, the Arbitration Institute Finland and Oslo Chamber of Commerce are pleased to invite you to a breakfast discussion “Cultural Clashes in Dispute Resolution” Monday 5 October at 8am – 9.15am, at Grand Hotel, Galerie, Kärntner Ring 9, 1010 Vienna, Austria.

The new Rules are in force as from 1 June 2015.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

The Rules, which have been revised with the collaboration of the DIA’s Mediation Committee, are in many ways inspired by the ICC’s new rules on mediation, which entered into force on 1 January 2014.

The main innovations can be described briefly as follows:

1. The registration fee was adjusted to EUR 1,300.00 to match the registration fee in arbitration cases. In cases which are not solved by mediation, and where an arbitration is commenced immediately thereafter at the DIA, the registration fee paid shall be credited as the registration fee for the arbitration proceedings.
2. Article 4 includes a provision about the role of the DIA in the frequent cases where a request for mediation is submitted without previous agreement between the parties.
3. Article 5 concerns the appointment of the mediator. The principle is now that the parties should jointly appoint the mediator.
4. The number of articles on the mediator’s duties is reduced. The aim is to give the parties and the mediator the necessary flexibility in the administration of the course of the mediation.
5. Appendix 1 concerns the setting of the mediator’s fee and of the DIA’s administrative charge. The administrative charge shall be fixed to half the rate of the scales for calculating administrative charge to the DIA in arbitration proceedings. In cases that are not solved by mediation and where an arbitration is commenced immediately thereafter at the DIA, the administrative charge paid shall be credited as the administrative charge for the arbitration proceedings. The Chairman’s Committee is also given the power to reduce the administrative charge if the amount is found unreasonable, for example because the case is limited to a party which declared not being willing to participate to the mediation.
6. The Mediator’s fee is, by default, set on the basis of the time spent and of an hourly rate decided by the Chairman’s Committee of the DIA. Alternatively, the parties and the mediator can agree that the Chairman’s Committee shall set the mediator’s fees to a fixed price, which can also be reduced by the Chairman’s Committee in the same circumstances as stated above regarding the DIA’s charge.

Read about the benefits of Mediation at the Danish Institute of Arbitration.

Read the brochure as a PDF

To order the new brochure for free, just send an email to office@danisharbitration.dk and specify your postal address and the number of copies you need.

The ICMA Steering Committee has fixed the dates of the ICMA XX.

Save the dates and join us in Copenhagen on 25-29 September 2017.

The ICMA Steering Committee has announced today that the Danish Institute of Arbitration would be the host organization of the ICMA XX.

Hong Kong, 15 May 2015

The next congress of the renowned world forum for maritime arbitrators, for lawyers and for the shipping industry will take place in Copenhagen in September 2017. The five-day conference is expected to draw around 300 delegates to the Danish capital.

The ICMA was established in 1972 to provide a forum for maritime arbitrators and lawyers from around the world to exchange views and news of professional interest.

Aside from providing a forum for discussion and serious, scholarly papers, the Congress always includes a social program for accompanying persons and delegates.

What draws ICMA to Denmark?

The long-standing maritime tradition in Denmark is well-known. Denmark might be considered a small Nordic country but given its historic and widespread maritime and arbitration traditions, it has actually made large contributions in both of these areas.

Besides being able to say that Denmark is home to one of the largest shipowners in the world, many other significant shipowners are domiciled in Denmark in order to participate in the country’s comprehensive and well-developed shipping industry.

The Danish Institute of Arbitration as host organization

The Danish Institute of Arbitration was founded in 1981 as a non-profit private foundation and is supported by a circle of important business organizations such as the Danish Bar and Law Society, the Danish Arbitration Association and the Danish Shipowners’ Association. The Danish Institute of Arbitration is the only general center for alternative dispute resolution in Denmark and approximately one third of the Danish Institute of Arbitration’s case load is international.

The DIA supports the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration’s Inaugural Arbitration Week on 7-9th May 2015.

This inaugural event is organised in conjunction with the CIArb Centennial Lecture that is celebrated to mark its 100th year of establishment and contribution to the arbitration industry.

The key highlights of KLIAW 2015 is the CIArb Centennial Lecture that will be delivered by Professor Doug Jones AO, a leading international commercial arbitrator in the Asia-Pacific region. The week will also see four streams on offer, namely the Islamic Arbitration (i-Arbitration) Conference, Sports Arbitration Conference, the Sanctions Conference and the annual RAIF Conference 2015.

For more information and for registration, visit http://kliaw.org/2015/

Please read about the Rules here.

International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators Hong Kong – May 11-15, 2015

The International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA) is an important academic exchange forum in the field of international maritime arbitration. Held for every two or three years, the 19th ICMA will be organized by Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group in Hong Kong in May 2015.

For more information and registration, please visit the website of the event, at:

http://www.icma2015hongkong.org/

The Danish Institute of Arbitration is pleased to invite you to the Conference on
Arbitration of Energy Disputes: New Challenges,
held in Copenhagen on September 1-2, 2014.

Please find more details about the Conference here. Please find the program,here.

Registration is closed!

We recommend that you carefully review the Payment and Cancellation

Study of a Mock Case under the 2012 ICC Arbitration Rules
Period: From 12 to 14 September 2013

Every truly international arbitration practitioner and corporate counsel involved in or considering the use of arbitration is well advised to acquaint himself/herself with the ICC Rules of Arbitration 2012.This study of a mock arbitration case aims to meet the practical needs of those involved in international trade and investment and will simulate an ICC arbitration proceeding, highlighting differences in cultures and legal practices, and at the same time offer the participants the unique opportunity to exchange views with renown and experienced arbitration practitioners.

The PIDA training is using materials developed by the ICC in Paris. It includes the study of an international arbitration mock case based on the factual scenario of an international sales and service contract.

With the participants acting as counsel, arbitrators and witnesses, the training is designed to put the participants in a situation that is similar to a real life arbitration. The PIDA training’s secret to success is the combination of short academic presentations by the panelists and the practical simulation of an arbitration procedure, be it by drafting a Request for Arbitration, an Answer or Terms of Reference, by conducting a mock hearing or by scrutinizing a draft Final Award.

Find more details and registration form in the enclosed pdf

Seminar about current hot topics in international Arbitration.

Further details are available here

Maritime Arbitration in Denmark

A seminar presented by Danish Shipowners’ Association in association with the Danish Institute of Arbitration.

12 May 2009, at 14:30-17:00

at the premises of Danish Shipowners’ Association, Amaliegade 33, DK-1256 Copenhagen K

Everybody who is involved in concluding contracts in the field of maritime law should attend. Also attorneys, arbitrators, in-house counsel, academics and others with interest in the current developments in the field of maritime arbitration should attend.

Registration no later than 6 May 2009 on office@voldgiftsinstituttet.dk is required. Registration is free of charge.

P R O G R A M M E

 14:30-14:40: Welcome and Introduction

• Attorney Jesper Lett, Chairman of the Danish Institute of Arbitration

14:40-15:00: Settling disputes with the Danish Institute of Arbitration

• Steffen Pihlblad, Managing Director of the Danish Institute of Arbitration

15:00-15:45: Maritime Arbitration in Denmark and abroad

• Attorney Henrik Thal Jantzen, Kromann Reumert
• Attorney Jes Anker Mikkelsen, Bech-Bruun
• Attorney Peter Appel, Gorrissen Federspiel Kierkegaard

Agrneda:

• Experiences with arbitration in London and Copenhagen
• How do you get success in negotiations of arbitration clauses?
• What is a dispute resolution policy and why your business must have a dispute resolution policy
• How do you appoint the best arbitrator?
• Qualified arbitrators and party representatives in Denmark
• Future perspectives with maritime arbitration in Denmark

15:45-16:00: Coffee break

16:00-16:30: Maritime Arbitration in Denmark and abroad, continued

16:30-16:45: The interest of Insurance companies in alternative dispute resolution in maritime cases

• T.b.a.

16:45-17:00: Concluding remarks and questions

• Attorney Jesper Lett, Chairman of the Danish Institute of Arbitration