The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports

Price: $168.00 2 Issues per Year. Published September 2008

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Table of Contents

About the Report:
The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports will for the first time provide a full English translation of the decisions made by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on a biannual basis, irrespective of whether the original decision was published in the German, French or Italian language, or whether the decision has been officially published or is simply available on the Court’s website. The English translation is presented in parallel to the original text of each decision, and it is preceded by a head note and a summary of the decision for the reader in a hurry. All decisions directly relating to international arbitration will be translated, including those that deal with setting aside proceedings, the enforcement of arbitration agreements or the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Switzerland under the New York Convention, 1958.

Switzerland is historically one of the preferred venues for international commercial arbitration. Arbitrations taking place in Switzerland relate not only to contracts between European corporations, but also to contracts made in East-West trade or contracts between parties in the Northern and the Southern hemisphere.

The most important decisions on international arbitration are made by Switzerland’s highest court, the Federal Supreme Court. Anyone who needs to consider the position of the Swiss law on international arbitration is bound to consult these decisions. In addition, due to the leading role of Switzerland in international arbitration, the Court’s decisions are frequently relied upon by arbitral tribunals in international arbitrations outside Switzerland.

This work is edited by two well-known Swiss practitioners, both of whom are engaged full-time in international arbitration as counsel and arbitrators, and have published widely on issues of international law and arbitration.

This publication will be of great use to arbitrators, the parties and their lawyers as well as commentators who will benefit from access to case law in one key jurisdiction for international arbitration.

About the Editors:
Paolo Michele Patocchi, a Partner with Lenz & Staehelin, is engaged full-time in international arbitration as counsel and arbitrator.  He was a lecturer at the University of Geneva for over 15 years, and was also the first Chairman of the National Arbitration Committee as well as the Special Committee of the Swiss Chambers’ of Commerce (administering Swiss Rules arbitrations). He is currently a member of the Arbitral Council of the Chamber of National and International Arbitration of Milan.

Matthias Scherer, a Partner at Lalive, is also engaged full-time in international arbitration as counsel and arbitrator. He is a member of the Arbitration Committee of the Swiss Chambers’ of Commerce and of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Industry, associate member of the ICC Institute, Officer of the IBA Arbitration Committee and serves as Co-Editor of the Swiss Arbitration Association Bulletin (ASA Bulletin). He regularly represents parties before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

Praise for "The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports"

"Practitioners all over the world should be grateful to the editors of The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports for making the wealth of Swiss case law on international arbitration, scattered until now, so easily accessible in English, the language used in the vast majority of international arbitrations having their seat in Switzerland."

-Pierre A. Karrer, Honorary President of ASA (Swiss Arbitration Association); Vice President, Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC); former Vice President, LCIA; Court Member, ICC; former Chair, Arbitration Commission of Swiss National Committee of the ICC; Partner, Pestalozzi Lachenal Patry, Zurich and Geneva (1976 to 2004)

"Switzerland is one of the leading centres of international arbitration and decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court are therefore of considerable interest. By providing English translations of these decisions the editors make them much more accessible to arbitration practitioners worldwide. Messrs Patocchi and Scherer are to be congratulated on this exciting initiative"

-Michael Pryles, Council member ICCA; Immediate Past President, Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group; Immediate Past President, Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.

"This welcome publication, available in the English language, is not only an indispensable tool for all those interested in transnational arbitration in Switzerland; but also, given the long and successful traditions of Swiss jurisprudence on international arbitration, a most useful tool for all those interested in arbitration everywhere."

-V.V. Veeder, is a member of Essex Court Chambers, acting as arbitrator and advocate in arbitration proceedings principally in Paris, Stockholm, Singapore, New York and Switzerland. Mr.Veeder is a Member of ICCA, Council Member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law; Council Member of the SCC Arbitration Institute, President of ARIAS-AIDA (UK) and Vice-President of the LCIA. Between 1990 and 1996 he was a Member of the United Kingdom’s Department of Trade and Industry Advisory Committee on the Law of Arbitration, responsible for the English Arbitration Act 1996.

"This is an extremely valuable resource, meticulously prepared by two leading Swiss international arbitration practitioners, and will prove invaluable on both sides of the Atlantic, It will be essential for all practitioners in the field, whether in Switzerland or abroad."

-Gary Born, a Partner in WilmerHale's Litigation and Controversy Department, and the chair of the International Arbitration Practice Group.

"Switzerland is one of the most popular centres for international arbitrations in Europe. It follows that the supervisory legal regime applicable to such arbitrations held in that jurisdiction is of considerable interest to international arbitration practitioners around the world, and their clients. Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports will be published twice-yearly under the general editorship of two experienced Swiss practitioners in the field, Paolo Michele Patocchi and Matthias Scherer. The case reports will appear in the original language as well as in English translation, and deserve a warm welcome by the international arbitration community."

Martin Hunter - is Professor of International Dispute Resolution at Nottingham Law School. He is a Counsil Member of ICCA and CHairman, Dubai International Arbitration Centre. He began as a solicitor and was a partner in Freshfields until joining Essex Court Chambers in 1994.

"The Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports are bound to become indispensable for international arbitration practitioners because of the importance of Switzerland as a seat of arbitration and the high regard in which decisions of the Federal Supreme Court are held. I appreciate, in particular, the very helpful head notes and summaries which guide busy practitioners to the material they require."

Judith Gill, Partner, Allen & Overy, London. She is a Director of the LCIA, member of the LCIA Court and member of the ICC UK Arbitration Group.

"These case reports of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court are an essential tool for the international arbitration practitioner. In clear English - increasingly the lingua franca of international arbitration - and with helpful explanatory notes they provide an accessible source the relevant and important developments in one of the world’s major and preferred international arbitration centres."

-Julian Lew, is Visiting Professor and Head of the School of International Arbitration, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London.