4 The Arbitral Proceedings

Subject(s):

Arbitral rules — Arbitral agreements — Arbitral tribunals — Arbitrators — International courts and tribunals, powers — Place of arbitration

This chapter addresses the legal framework applicable to proceedings before arbitral tribunals seated in Germany. On this basis, it first discusses the typical structure and frequent steps of arbitral proceedings. Regarding the initiation of arbitral proceedings, German law follows a three-step model consisting of: request for arbitration, constitution of the arbitral tribunal and initial pleadings by claimant (statement of claim) and respondent (statement of defence). German ad-hoc proceedings usually contain few mandatory formalities for the request for arbitration. Pursuant to the ZPO, its minimum contents are designation of the parties, designation of the subject matter of the dispute, and reference to the applicable arbitration agreement. The chapter concludes by examining a wide range of special situations, highlighting the steps taken by the German Institute of Arbitration (DIS) during events such as multi-party arbitration, as well as issues of fraud, money laundering, and corruption.