Arbitration is an Alternative Dispute Resolution method which allows you to avoid going to court, and instead either choose your arbitrator (together with the other party), or have it chosen by ballot from a list held by the Arbitration Tribunal of your choice. The ruling of the Arbitrator is binding for all parties, and can only be appealed once for very limited reasons. It can also be enforced directly against the other party.
The advantages can be summed up as follows: TIME: Arbitration takes much less time than a normal court trial. Example:
COSTS: Having a decision is better than waiting for one. The uncertainty and blocked resources throughout the court trial mean money is lost or sitting idly by for years. Arbitration costs less than the court process if one takes this into account.
Also, there is less need for a lawyer. Especially in technical trials, the parties can be represented by their CEOs, accompanied by technical in-house experts, reducing lawyer time. Depending on the type of case, the in-house legal advisor can be sufficient for an arbitration.
INTEGRITY: The costs of the trial are supported in the beginning by both parties. The arbitrators set their fees at a level which they believe is honest and reasonable. Therefore, they do not feel the “urge” to enrich themselves further from one party or the other, and feel no bias for / against any party. Furthermore, the STARS arbitrators are chosen for their professional integrity.
CONFIDENTIALITY: The arbitration proceedings are confidential. There is no public present, and the archives are locked for 50 years.
FLEXIBILITY: The arbitration take place at any venue agreed with the other party, or at the STARS arbitration tribunal’s HQ. The arbitrators may make on the ground visits to ascertain facts, or go to a witness’s home if they cannot move. Furthermore, technical means allow the arbitration tribunal to organise long-distance hearings and witness depositions.
There are two ways to choose arbitration:
1. If you enter into a contract, by inserting an arbitration clause, on the model provided. Or
2. If you are already into a dispute, by signing, together with the other party/parties, a compromise which chooses the STARS arbitration tribunal as your forum.
There are three ways to pick the arbitrators:
1. Default way: The President of the STARS arbitration tribunal will pick randomly in a ballot one arbitrator.
2. If the parties agree, they can each pick one arbitrator, and these two will, in turn, pick a third one to break ties.
3. Alternatively, the parties may themselves pick one common arbitrator, who can also be an external expert in the technical fields required for the trial.
Furthermore, the parties may agree to attach to the arbitrator a common expert or team of experts, to give their specialised opinions.
Yes, the most important areas where arbitration cannot take place are family issues, inheritance issues, employer-employee relationships, and trials against the state (unless the state agrees, for example in international settings). However, trials between a company and a freelancer may be arbitrated.
If you have an arbitration clause or a compromise (see above) you may bring suit in front of the Arbitral Tribunal. In the case of the STARS court of arbitration, you will receive technical assistance from our team. However, the process is streamlined, and setting up the suit should not be much of a hassle.
If the other party starts a trial and you have an arbitration clause in your contract, then you can invoke the arbitration exception and ask the state court to declare itself not competent to hear the case, sending it to the STARS arbitration court. If the court refuses, this is a ground for appeal.
The arbitration costs are composed as follows:
1. A technical fee (which represents the costs of the Arbitration Tribunal’s secretarial and administrative work). This is set in SCHEDULE 1 for the STARS arbitration court;
2. The arbitrator’s fee (which can be one, or three times depending on the parties’ choice. Default is one), the sum set in SCHEDULE 2 for the STARS arbitration court.
3. The notary’s fee, in case of arbitration for immovables. These depend on the value of the court order, and they can only be anticipated approximatively in advance.
The parties pay half the fee each. If one does not pay, the other can pay in advance in their place. The loser of the trial then has to reimburse the winning party for their part of the fee. If the loser does not comply, the ruling can be directly enforced through bailiffs.
The arbitration might also entail expert fees and lawyer fees, and other incidental fees, such as for hearing witnesses in other cities. However, these are mostly independent of the Court, and can also happen in normal trials.
The fees itemised at 1 and 2 do not include the legal VAT tax. You will be informed if this is applicable.
SCHEDULE 1
TECHNICAL FEE
At 18th June 2013
Changes will be posted on www.starseu.eu
All sums are calculated by transforming the currency of the request into EUROS at the National Bank Exchange Rate of the day when the arbitration is commenced.
There are discounts in some cases, as well as special other fees (such as for additional copies of the ruling) that are set in the Fee Regulation of the STARS arbitral tribunal.
SCHEDULE 2
ARBITRATOR’S FEE
At 18th June 2013
Changes will be posted on www.starseu.eu
All sums are calculated by transforming the currency of the request into EUROS at the National Bank Exchange Rate of the day when the arbitration is commenced.
