Highlights of the revised Stockholm arbitration rules

The Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) are among the most widely used in commercial and investment arbitration globally. On 1 January 2017, the SCC launched revised versions of its arbitration rules as well as rules for expedited arbitrations.

The process of revising the rules began in September 2014, when the SCC board appointed a rules revision committee. The committee included Swedish and international arbitration practitioners and academics, members of the SCC board, and members of the SCC secretariat. After two years, the committee released drafts of the proposed revised rules, in June 2016. The public was invited to submit written comments, and a public hearing was held in Stockholm.

The aim of the revision committee was not to overhaul SCC arbitration procedure, but rather to streamline certain procedures, codify existing practices, and respond to users’ demands. Since the previous version of the SCC rules went into effect in 2010, there has been a significant increase in complex multi-contract and multi-party disputes, which tend to place particular demands on the arbitration procedure. Other developments have included the hotly debated issue of the role of tribunal secretaries, new transparency rules for investor-state disputes, and calls from users for yet more time- and cost-efficient arbitral proceedings. Accommodating these developments was a central concern for the revision committee.

Anja Havedal Ipp is legal counsel at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce