Events 
Resources 
News News
Read our latest news, stories and articles
Swiss Arbitration Centre – Annual Report 2024
The Swiss Arbitration Centre continues to strengthen its position as a leading arbitral institution. Following a record caseload in 2021 – when the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution (SCAI) became the Swiss Arbitration Centre and the latest revision of the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration took place – as well as two years of consolidation in 2022 and 2023, 2024 continues to attract a robust number of disputes.
In 2024, the Swiss Arbitration Centre marks its position as a truly international arbitration institution, with 82% of cases being international (meaning at least one party is neither registered nor domiciled in Switzerland) – an increase of 4% compared to 2023. Parties to these proceedings come from 37 countries, with cases administered in English, German, French, Italian, and other languages.
The expedited procedure of the Swiss Rules applied to 41% of arbitration cases commenced in 2024. This confirms the Swiss Arbitration Centre’s excellence in administering fast-paced proceedings, as well as the users’ demand for quick dispute resolution procedures.
The Swiss Arbitration Centre is a young institution that relies on decades of history. Disputes referred to the Swiss Arbitration Centre arise from agreements referring to the Swiss Arbitration Centre or its predecessors, i.e. the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution (SCAI) or the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Basel, Bern, Geneva, Ticino, Vaud, Zurich, and Neuchâtel. To illustrate the significant legacy of the Swiss Arbitration Centre’s predecessors, two-thirds of the arbitration agreements still refer to SCAI or the Swiss Chambers of Commerce. Similarly, this is a testament to the success of the institution’s re-branding just three years ago – an extraordinary display of continuity and legal certainty for users.
Recent global developments call for increased cooperation between arbitral institutions. In 2024, the Swiss Arbitration Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and cooperation agreements with the Chinese International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Centre (BAC/BIAC), and Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission/Shanghai International Arbitration Centre (SHIAC). These agreements aim to strengthen joint efforts in promoting arbitration and ADR in international business. The Swiss Arbitration Centre also launched an initiative aimed at holding periodic informal sessions with colleagues from other institutions to discuss good practices and current challenges. Finally, the Swiss Arbitration family welcomed its newest member, the Swiss Chamber of Commercial Mediation (SCCM), no doubt strengthening the Swiss Arbitration Centre’s mediation pillar.
In 2024, the Secretariat of the Swiss Arbitration Centre Court saw a major turnover in staff. Legal Counsel members Shanaize Yahiaoui, Francesco Di Girolamo, Lukas Innerebner, and Simon Demaurex left the Centre over the course of the year. We thank them all for their tremendous contributions to the case administration and projects, especially during important transition from SCAI to the Swiss Arbitration Centre. We wish them all the best for their future careers in arbitration. They also carefully onboarded their successors: Julia Simon (June 2024), Gabriele Miscia (August 2024), Matia Trosic (September 2024), and Saba Mollaian (October 2024). We wish all new joiners a good hand!
Korinna von Trotha, Executive Director of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, is very pleased with the work at the Secretariat’s level and believes “with such a stellar (new) team, case administration will be a piece of cake, just like Swiss arbitration!”
Bernhard Berger, President of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Arbitration Centre and Partner with Kellerhals Carrard, comments:“Congratulations to Korinna von Trotha and her team, as well as the President and Members of the Arbitration Court, for their outstanding achievements in 2024, particularly in case management and the development of strategic partnerships.”