A dispute resolution clause is an agreement that parties in a contractual relationship make regarding how to resolve any dispute that may arise, whether in the form of a clause in the contract or a separate agreement. The scope of the agreement is determined as provided for in the clause.
Parties who want to resolve their disputes through SCCA must agree to SCCA-administered dispute resolution in accordance with the SCCA arbitration or mediation rules. This provides a legal basis for referring the dispute to SCCA and to establish its jurisdiction to administer the proceedings.
These clauses can be customized. SCCA recommends that parties consider including supplementary elements when appropriate, such as the number of arbitrators, place of arbitration, and language of arbitration. Parties should also consult legal experts before adding any of the below clauses to their commercial contracts.
"Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (the “SCCA”) in accordance with the SCCA Arbitration Rules."
Parties can tailor the SCCA standard clauses to their specific needs by including additional elements such as the number of arbitrators, selection method, place of arbitration, and language of arbitration.
If parties wish to utilize the Expedited Procedure Rules for disputes that exceed SAR 4,000,000, they must opt in by explicitly adding a provision to the following effect:
“Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (the “SCCA”) in accordance with the SCCA Expedited Procedure Rules [regardless of the amount in dispute / provided the amount in dispute does not exceed SAR [__] at the time of filing the Request for Arbitration].”
If parties wish to exclude the application of the Expedited Procedure Rules, Online Dispute Resolution Procedure Rules, or Emergency Arbitrator Procedure Rules, they must opt out by explicitly adding a provision to the following effect:
“The [Expedited Procedure Rules / Online Dispute Resolution Procedure Rules / Emergency Arbitrator Procedure Rules] shall not apply.”
According to Article 36(3) of the Rules, the SCCA can publish any award, order, decision, or other ruling in an anonymized or redacted form unless a party objects before the arbitration concludes. If parties wish to prevent publication, they must explicitly add a provision to the following effect:
“No award, order, or decision made in the arbitration shall be published.”
If parties choose a substantive law to govern the contract or the arbitration agreement but wish to subject such law to Shari’ah (especially when the place of arbitration is not Saudi Arabia), they may add a provision to the following effect:
“The law governing the [contract and/or arbitration agreement] shall be [__] to the extent that such law does not conflict with Shari’ah as outlined in the [e.g., Shari’ah Standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)], in which case Shari’ah shall take precedence.”
According to Article 37(4) of the Rules, the default law governing the arbitration agreement shall be the law of the place of arbitration. If parties wish to choose another law, they must explicitly add a provision to the following effect:
“The law governing the arbitration agreement shall be [__].”
“Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, the parties hereto agree first to try to settle it by mediation, administered by the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (the “SCCA”) in accordance with its Mediation Rules, before resorting to arbitration, litigation, or some other dispute resolution procedure. “
“Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or a breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, the parties hereto agree first to try to settle it by mediation administered by the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (the “SCCA”) in accordance with the SCCA Mediation Rules. If settlement is not reached within [__] days after service of a written request for mediation, the dispute, controversy, or claim shall be settled by arbitration administered by the SCCA in accordance with the SCCA Arbitration Rules.”