Revised SCCA Arbitration Rules Empower SCCA Court

Published Date: 01/05/2023

The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) announces the publication of its revised SCCA Arbitration Rules on May 1, 2023. This follows an extensive review of the Rules and public consultation process both in the Kingdom and internationally, and the approval of the final text by the SCCA’s Board of Directors.

The new Rules will apply to all arbitrations filed on or after May 1, 2023. This will also set the stage for the SCCA Court becoming fully functional after the launch date and replacing the existing SCCA Committee for Administrative Decisions. SCCA announced the formation of the SCCA Court last November.

The new Rules are the culmination of over 20 months of continuous institutional work, managed by SCCA in consultation with the SCCA Rules Advisory Committee, which includes 16 international subject-matter experts from various countries and backgrounds and chaired by Richard Naimark. Subsequently, the text was reviewed by a sub-committee composed of members of SCCA’s Board of Directors and chaired by the Board's Vice-Chairman Mr. Toby Landau KC.

The new Rules are in conformity with the latest international standards in the arbitration industry and take into account the best practices followed by other eminent arbitral institutions. One of the highlights is the introduction of the SCCA Court, which will be in charge of making key administrative decisions related to SCCA administered arbitrations. The SCCA Court includes 15 eminent luminaries in the arbitration industry from 12 countries with decades of arbitration court experience, including international arbitrators, academics, former leaders of arbitral institutions, retired appeal court judges, and high-profile practitioners. Prof. Jan Paulsson has been elected as the SCCA Court’s President with Dr. Ziad Al-Sudairy and Mr. James Hosking as the Vice Presidents.

Another important feature of the new Rules is the general promotion of use of technology in filing documents but also managing cases. Particularly for smaller claims, technology will now play a key role by embedding the ODR Procedure Rules as an opt-out where the aggregate amount in dispute does not exceed SAR 200,000 (roughly USD 53,000).

Another area that has seen significant change is the expansion of the Arbitral Tribunal’s discretionary powers such as the determination of the most effective format for hearings (including remote hearings), the ability to reject changes in party representation as a procedural safeguard, the ability to encourage parties to resort to mediation where appropriate, the limitation of length of written statements or requests, and the electronic signing of awards. At the same time, the new Rules add two additional reasons for arbitrator challenges: failure to perform, and manifest lack of party-agreed qualifications.

The new Rules also address a number of emerging practices and issues in international arbitration, such as arbitrations multi-party and multi-contract disputes, the need for consolidation or otherwise the coordination of parallel arbitrations, third party funding, the publication of redacted awards absent party objection, and the need for cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection.

• In this context, the Chairman of the SCCA Board of Directors, Dr. Walid Abanumay, said: “Today, SCCA starts a new chapter with the launching of its revised SCCA Arbitration Rules.  SCCA continues its pioneering approach to advance the arbitration industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East region by providing the best international standards and practices and achieving SCCA’s vision that was set from day one: to be the preferred ADR choice in the region by 2030.”

• SCCA’s Vice-Chairman, Mr. Toby Landau KC, stated: “The 2023 SCCA Arbitration Rules are the product of an intensive drafting exercise by an international and diverse panel of leading experts. The new Rules embody cutting-edge innovations with established best practices.  The result is undoubtedly a first-class, state-of-the-art framework for international arbitration.”

• For his part, SCCA’s CEO, Dr. Hamed Merah, said: “The launch of the revised SCCA Arbitration Rules is the culmination of the progress achieved by SCCA in its arbitration caseload.  Further, SCCA has diversified its client base to now include over 20 different nationalities, a reflection of the international capabilities and level of international acceptance of SCCA. The revised SCCA Arbitration Rules aim to further promote this positive trend and set the necessary provisions to, among others, manage multi-party and multi-contract cases, while reconfirming that international and non-lawyers are able to represent parties in arbitration.”

• SCCA’s Chief of ADR and General Counsel, Mr. Christian P. Alberti added: “The launch of the revised SCCA Arbitration Rules comes timely with a significant increase in case registration and interest in SCCA services. In drafting the new Rules together with its Rules Advisory Committee, SCCA has listened to its users, analyzed what works for other institutions, and taken a pragmatic approach in putting together state- of- the- art Rules.”

• The Chair of SCCA’s Rules Advisory Committee, Mr. Richard Naimark added: “Fairness, respect and transparency are the guiding principles of SCCA Arbitration Rules crafted by a talented group of advisors with the experience to develop ‘best in class’ procedures.  Disputing parties, their counsel and Arbitrators can be confident in the procedural balance these Rules provide.”

• Prof. Jan Paulsson, the President of the new SCCA Court stated: “We hope that the new Rules of the SCCA will be given the attention that they deserve, as they have been prepared by a working group including eminent specialists from around the world and at the same time ascertained as being in conformity with local laws and practices in the fullest range of potential venues. They are designed for optimal efficiency while compromising no feature of due process in international arbitration.”