East-West litigation specialist

Photo : D.R.

Tucked away in the centre of Stockholm, the organisation is discreet and low-profile. The Chamber of Commerce’s Arbitration Institute in the Swedish capital is nonetheless a model of its kind, “an influential instrument in settling commercial disputes relating
to the former Eastern block,” explains Ulf Franke, the Institute’s general secretary. The former civil cases magistrate is one of a trio of judges at the head of the Institute.
“There is a judge to represent each of the two parties and a third appointed by the Chamber. Cases are dealt with in a year on average. I should point out that in the tribunals of most countries, this type of case takes a minimum of 5 to 10 years”, says Ulf Franke.
The discretion with which operations take place is another big plus and of great interest to companies. The Chamber is made up of a single authority. It does not recognise the right to appeal in case of disagreement, which partly explains the speed cases are dealt with.  Judgments handed down cannot be disputed before a tribunal, in accordance with the terms of a UN agreement ratified by 140 countries. “It’s a way of ensuring that decisions really are applied abroad,” explains the judge.
The Stockholm arbitration chamber is now one of the three biggest in the world. Though founded in 1917, it only really took off sixty years later when Soviets and Americans began a new phase in their relations and decided to forge commercial links. The Swedish capital, then at the height of its neutrality policy, became the ideal place for the two great powers to turn.
Its neutrality has disappeared, though its reputation still exists. “In the minds
of world leaders we remain a model for settling disputes. Our credibility is strong as ever. Even though the political context has evolved considerably, our history remains an exceptional, much appreciated asset,” says Ulf Franke.
The Swedish Chamber has made a speciality of East-West litigation. Chinese companies followed in the wake of companies from the Soviet era when China developed its trade links with the ex-USSR. A native Russian-speaking lawyer currently works full-time in the organisation which plans to recruit other specialist lawyers to study the cases. In 2008, the Institute dealt with almost 90 international-level cases involving thirty countries. Half the files concern East-West litigation and even East-East, as in the case of the gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Of a common accord, the two countries agreed to settle any disputes before the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

The ICC’s International Court of Arbitration, the other arbiter
The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce’s Arbitration Institute concentrates on trade disputes. In other kinds of dispute, the ICC’s (International Chamber of Commerce) International Arbitration Court is an indispensable arbiter thanks to its vast network of experts capable of intervening in a variety of fields. Unlike other litigation organisations, the ICC does not only resolve conflicts: it has created a system of arbitration that includes bodies whose individual authority is accepted by the parties. The Court, which includes 124 members from all over the world, takes the main decisions that enable the procedure to work. The secretariat, whose sixty-strong staff includes thirty-five lawyers, handles arbitration in 20 languages in designated fields of activity. It follows each case and offers its assistance to the judges, parties and their lawyers. The institution sets legal proceedings in motion, investigates cases and moves them forward. It then actively intervenes by issuing judgements which without its intervention, would be left in the hands of the national courts. Since its establishment, the Court has handled over 15,000 cases.