Insights | January 31, 2018

Stockholm as a Global Hub for Arbitration

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) last week published a significant report about Stockholm’s role as a global hub for arbitration, in particular international arbitration. The report recounts the historical development of Stockholm from being initially a center and seat of arbitration for domestic disputes to evolving, after the Second World War, into a venue for international disputes.

It also explains the economic importance of arbitration as a service industry for Sweden, with an estimated annual impact of SEK 9 billion, representing 0.21% of Sweden’s GDP. The figures are based on an extensive report by Boston Consulting Group, which, as a comparison, highlights the fact that the Swedish aviation industry contributes 0.22% of the nation’s GDP.

More importantly, however, the report also looks to the future and outlines actions to develop Sweden and Stockholm in this respect. Notably, all arbitral institutions and participants in arbitration in Sweden, including Roschier, are encouraged to take part in this development. The CEO of the Swedish branch of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) also supported the report in its foreword.

We are happy to recommend the SCC and Stockholm as an option to be considered by our foreign clients as the venue in which to resolve their disputes. Based on our collective experience acting as counsel in many disputes, we can see that the SCC continuously strives to enhance procedural and cost efficiency in arbitration as well as foster innovations that benefit its users.  The user experience surveys also suggest that the SCC is lauded for its efficiency, among other things.

In addition, Sweden’s prominent role as a neutral country is often an important factor. Transparency, non-corruption and adherence to the rule of law are elements that are favoured by companies and organizations when seeking a dispute resolution venue.

Additional information is provided in a booklet produced by the YAS (Young Arbitrators Sweden) and the SAA (Swedish Arbitration Association), which also explains the potential benefits of Swedish law as the substantive law relevant in a dispute.

In particular, we would like to highlight the commercial realism that permeates the legislator’s approach to commercial legislation. Commercial realism will thus take precedence over legal formalism in the application of commercial law.

We regularly advise clients on dispute resolution choices and drafting dispute resolution clauses. We would be happy to discuss these issues in more depth with you.