Arbitration - A General Overview

Originally published by European Law Office.

1. Introduction – Legal framework

In Austria, arbitration is mainly governed by the fourth chapter of the Code on Civil Procedure (ZPO). The law defines the limits of arbitration – e.g. the validity of arbitration agreements or the minimum standards of a fair trial – and in addition to this it provides procedural rules which apply in the absence of a respective agreement between the parties. As of today, Austrian arbitration law is not based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, but a working group recently proposed draft legislation to change the respective chapter, adapt it to the Model Law, and provide an even better environment for arbitration than it is right now.