Amendments To Austrian Arbitration Law Abbreviate The Proceeding To Challenge An Arbitration Award

On 1 January 2014, a government bill (ErläutRV 2322 BlgNR 23. GP) introducing changes to the Austrian Arbitration Law will come into force (SchiedsRÄG 2013). Mainly Sec. 615 and 616 of the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (ACCP), which regulate the procedural levels for challenging an arbitration award in front of an Austrian state court, will be changed. As of the start of next year, the Austrian Supreme Court will be both the first and the last instance to decide about such claims.

Based on the work of a group composed of several arbitration practitioners and academics, a ministerial draft bill (351/ME, SchiedsRÄG 2012) issued in February 2012 envisioned shortening the procedure for challenging an arbitration award to one instance, namely the Austrian Supreme Court.