2023 SCC Rules – what are the changes?

Revised versions of the SCC Arbitration Rules, SCC Rules for Expedited Arbitrations, SCC Mediation Rules, SCC Rules for Express Dispute Assessment and the SCC Procedures for UNCITRAL cases have been published on the SCC website today. The revised rules and procedures will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

The rule revision committee consisted of Barton Legum, Christoffer Coello Hedberg, Crina Baltag, Dmitri Evseev, Evelina T. Wahlström, Ginta Ahrel and Johan Sidklev. Charlotta Falkman was a member of the committee until 1 January 2022. The revised rules were approved by the Board of the SCC Arbitration Institute and adopted by the Board of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in December 2022.

The rule revision committee examined various topics but concluded that few material changes needed to be made to the SCC Rules. Most material changes concern the SCC Mediation Rules, which have not been revised since 2014. The key changes are summarised below.

The SCC Arbitration Rules

• A new provision in Article 32 clarifying that the arbitral tribunal may decide on whether hearings shall be conducted in person or remotely.
• Removing the agreement on the number of arbitrators as a recommended addition to the SCC model clause.
• Including a possibility for the arbitral tribunal to terminate the arbitral proceedings by way of an order under Article 45(2).
• Changes to Article 29 to clarify which information shall be included in the statement of claim and statement of defence.
• A change in Article 51(5) according to which a decision to terminate a case in whole or in part due to a failure to pay the advance on costs shall be made by the arbitral tribunal after the referral of the case to the arbitral tribunal.
• Various language revisions to improve the clarity, coherency and accessibility of the SCC Arbitration Rules.
• Changes made for the purpose of accommodating the SCC’s change of name from the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce to the SCC Arbitration Institute.

The SCC Rules for Expedited Arbitrations

• A new provision in Article 33 clarifying that the arbitral tribunal may decide on whether hearings shall be conducted in person or remotely.
• Including a possibility for the arbitral tribunal to terminate the arbitral proceedings by way of an order under Article 45(2).
• Changes to Article 6 and Article 7 to clarify which information shall be included in the request for arbitration/statement of claim and answer to the request for arbitration/statement of defence.
• A change in Article 51(5) according to which a decision to terminate a case in whole or in part due to a failure to pay the advance on costs shall be made by the arbitral tribunal after the referral of the case to the arbitral tribunal.
• Various language revisions to improve the clarity, coherency and accessibility of the SCC Rules for Expedited Arbitrations.
• Changes made for the purpose of accommodating the SCC’s change of name from the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce to the SCC Arbitration Institute.

The SCC Mediation Rules

• Various changes to update the SCC Mediation Rules to the current practices of the SCC and to improve the clarity, coherency and accessibility of the SCC Mediation Rules.
• Changes made for the purpose of accommodating the SCC’s change of name from the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce to the SCC Arbitration Institute.

The SCC Rules for Express Dispute Assessment

• Various language revisions to improve the clarity, coherency and accessibility of the SCC Rules for Express Dispute Assessment.
• Changes made for the purpose of accommodating the SCC’s change of name from the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce to the SCC Arbitration Institute.

The SCC procedures for UNCITRAL cases

• Various language revisions to improve the clarity, coherency and accessibility of the SCC Procedures for UNCITRAL cases.
• Changes made for the purpose of accommodating the SCC’s change of name from the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce to the SCC Arbitration Institute. 

Go to the SCC Rules page.