Arbitration
The Grand Duchy has a new law on arbitration, namely the law of 19 April 2023 amending Part II, Book III, Title I of the New Code of Civil Procedure, with a view to reforming arbitration, which comes into force today on 25 April 2023.
This law, which replaces the former legislation, aims to modernise and strengthen the arbitration regime in Luxembourg, bringing it into line with international standards.
The new arbitration law has been developed in close cooperation with arbitration professionals and aims to make Luxembourg more attractive for international arbitration.
Three fundamental choices have been made by the drafters of the text:
- it was inspired by French law and the UNCITRAL model law;
- it is a liberal regime for the use of arbitration, balanced by the exclusion of certain types of disputes from the field of arbitration such as non-commercial tenancy law, consumer law and labour law; and
- it has maintained a single regime for domestic and international arbitration.
The reform includes a number of important changes that should strengthen Luxembourg's competitiveness the field. Among these are :
- a right to confidentiality of the arbitration proceedings ;
- the institution of the juge d’appui (supporting judge), who may intervene to order interim measures or to assist in the constitution of the arbitral tribunal;
- the reorganisation of the procedures for the annulment of a Luxembourg award and the exequatur of foreign awards before the Luxembourg courts.
Finally, the law recognises for the first time the role of arbitration institutions in the conduct of arbitration proceedings.
The Chamber of Commerce has had an arbitration centre since 1987. The Luxembourg Arbitration Center administers arbitration proceedings under its Arbitration Rules. The Rules were modernised in January 2020 to take account new developments in arbitration practice and to facilitate access to arbitration for SMEs. The Arbitration Center now offers (1) emergency proceedings allowing parties to seek urgent interim or conservatory measures that cannot wait for the constitution of an arbitral tribunal on the merits, and (2) simplified proceedings allowing parties to settle disputes whose amount does not exceed one million euros, or for which the parties have mutually agreed to use these procedures.
On 29 June 2023, the Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Think Tank for Arbitration, which includes the authors of the proposal that became the law, and the Luxembourg Arbitration Association, will organise a conference on "The reform of arbitration law in Luxembourg". For more information, please visit: https://www.cc.lu/agenda/detail/reforme-dur-droit-de-larbitrage-au-luxembourg.