The Arbitrator’s Gate to the East – Austria and the Vienna Rules

On 1 July 2006, the new Austrian Arbitration Act came into force and adapted the legal framework for arbitration proceedings in Austria to the standard of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. Following the call of modernization, at the same time, the rules of Austria’s most important arbitral institution, the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) revised its rules on the arbitral procedure (Vienna Rules), further enhancing the attraction of Austria as a seat for arbitrations for parties seeking to resolve their international commercial disputes, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Established in 1975, the International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber in Vienna administers arbitrations where at least one of the parties involved has its place of business or residence outside of Vienna or between parties whose place of business or residence is in Austria if their dispute is of an international nature. The Vienna Rules offer instruments to navigate arbitrations effectively and ensure that the process remains predictable, expeditious and fair. Apart from the provisions relating to the institutional organization of the VIAC, the Vienna Rules provide detailed provisions on arbitral proceedings, closing the gaps that are often purposely left by national laws on the arbitral procedure.

Although the new Vienna Rules have not changed the basic principles of conduct of arbitration proceedings under the auspices of the VIAC (in fact, these basic principles have been a part of the rules since their creation in 1975), the changes contained in the revised version quite comprehensibly reflects the changes in the requirements and standards of international arbitration. The new Vienna Rules therefore contain amended and detailed provisions on the commencement of proceedings, multiparty aspects, interim measures of protection, as well as significant changes to how arbitral proceedings are to be conducted and how the award should be made.

The fact that the Vienna Rules were revised at the same time as the Austrian Arbitration Act and, in particular, with a careful view to the changes introduced by the new legislation, makes these rules ideal for disputes that are arbitrated in Vienna with the application of the Austrian law on arbitral procedure.

The Vienna Rules can be downloaded on VIAC’s homepage. For an in depth-coverage of the Vienna Rules and the Austrian Arbitration Act, you may also want to refer to the ‘The Vienna Rules – A Commentary on International Arbitration in Austria’ by Franz T. Schwarz and Christian W. Konrad published by Kluwer Law International.