ACES Arbitration under the WESA Arbitration Rules

What is arbitration?

Arbitration is a mechanism for the resolution of disputes and similar to normal state court proceedings. It only takes place when the parties that are in dispute agree to conduct arbitration proceedings, either before or at the time when a legal dispute arises. The decision at the end (the so-called arbitral award) issued by the arbitral tribunal is similar to a court judgment and principally enforceable in many countries.

What are the benefits of arbitration?

There are a number of benefits of conducting arbitration proceedings instead of normal state court proceedings:

The parties to an arbitration can agree on arbitrator(s) which have specific know how and expertise required for the case.

The arbitration proceedings and their outcome are confidential.

With the consent of the arbitrator(s) the parties can make use of electronic communication during the proceedings.

There is no appeal against the decision. Therefore, a final decision can be received quicker than in state court proceedings.

Arbitral awards are enforceable in more than 150 countries.

How does the procedure work?

In order to start an ACES Arbitration under the WESA Arbitration Rules, the party making the claim (the Claimant) must provide a Notice of Arbitration to the other party (the Respondent). This Notice of Arbitration provides an outline of the dispute (for detailed information please see the ACES Arbitration Manual). The Respondent then has the opportunity to send an Answer to the Notice of Arbitration to the Claimant, stating its position regarding the dispute. At the same time, the parties should agree on the person of the arbitrator(s).

As soon as the arbitral tribunal has been established, it will direct the proceedings. Usually, the parties will have the opportunity to present their position in two rounds of written submissions, followed by an oral hearing. During the oral hearing the parties and witnesses and experts can be heard, if necessary. At the end of the proceedings the arbitral tribunal will issue the arbitral award.

In any case, we strongly recommend consulting a specialized lawyer in case you become involved in arbitration proceedings, in order to protect your legal rights efficiently.

For more details on the conduct of ACES Arbitration you can download the ACES Arbitration Manual here: ACES Arbitration Manual

What is special about the WESA Arbitration Rules?

The WESA Arbitration Rules provide the arbitrators and parties with the highest degree of flexibility to tailor the proceedings to their needs.

The parties have the possibility to agree on the persons of the arbitrators: In case of a three-member-tribunal (the normal case), each party can choose one arbitrator. Those two arbitrators will then agree on the third arbitrator (who is also the presiding arbitrator).

In case of a one-member-tribunal (which the parties can agree on), the parties can agree on the person of this so-called Sole Arbitrator.

The WESA Arbitration Rules endorse the use of electronic communication during the proceedings.

They include specific rules for doping-related proceedings.

If there is a dispute and you need a preliminary urgent decision in order to protect your claim or rights, you can ask the arbitrator(s) to issue provisional measures. This might for example be helpful if the other party tries to remove all its assets or if you want to stop the other side from a certain action as long as the arbitration proceedings are not finished yet.

If and as long as the arbitrators in the current dispute have not been chosen yet, you have the possibility to send your request for such provisional measures to an Emergency Arbitrator. For further information how and where to send your request to an Emergency Arbitrator, please click on “WESA Emergency Arbitration”.

Further information on the conduct of ACES Arbitration can be found here: ACES Arbitration Manual

The WESA Arbitration Rules are available for download here: WESA Arbitration Rules 2016