Belarus - Raiffeisen Bank International AG

5. Arbitration
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Unlike the rulings of state courts, most arbitral awards can be enforced worldwide. For a dispute to be settled
by a court of arbitration, its jurisdiction must previously be agreed in writing. It is therefore advisable to
include an arbitration clause in your contract with a Belarusian counterparty.
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber offers institutional arbitration as a service through the
International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.
The arbitration clause of the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber reads
as follows. (It is available in the languages of most importance to Austrian exporters.)
‘All disputes arising out of this contract or related to its violation, termination or nullity shall be finally settled
under the Rules of Arbitration and Conciliation of the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber in Vienna (Vienna Rules) by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with
these Rules.’
Useful agreements to supplement this arbitration clause:
• the number of arbitrators shall be .......................... (one or three);
• the applicable law shall be ............................;
• the language used during arbitration proceedings shall be ......................................
Detailed information:
Internationales Schiedsgericht der Wirtschaftskammer Österreich
International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Manfred Heider; Phone: +43-5-90 900-4397; Fax: +43-5-90 900-216.
e-mail: arb@wko.at; Internet: http://wko.at/arbitration
The fact that you, as an Austrian company, are a member of the Economic Chamber, may under some circumstances
bother a strong foreign counterparty. If this is the case, we recommend conferring jurisdiction
on another court of arbitration such as that of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). It is based in
Paris. Its representative in Austria is ICC Austria.
The following possibilities result:
• If your company’s starting position for contract negotiations is strong or if your starting position and that
of your counterparty are roughly even, we recommend using the arbitration clause of the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber to settle disputes.
• If, in contrast, your company’s position is weaker or a counterparty as strong as you does not agree to
the arbitration clause of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, we recommend conferring jurisdiction
on another arbitration court such as that of the International Chamber of Commerce.