On 1 July 2021, a new version of the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation as well as a complete new set of VIAC’s Investment Arbitration and Mediation Rules 2021 entered into force. They are applicable to all proceedings commenced after 30 June 2021.
With the adoption of the Vienna Investment Arbitration Rules, VIAC is now able to offer a set of specialized arbitral rules to accommodate the unique features of investment arbitration, including the involvement of sovereign parties and the implication of issues of public interest and public policy. The working group responsible for drafting the new rules was led by our Board member Claudia Annacker and consisted of representatives of the VIAC Board and Secretariat (Alice Fremuth-Wolf, Günther Horvath, Johanna Kathan-Spath, Dietmar Prager, Lucia Raimanova, Franz Schwarz, Nathalie Voser).
Triggered by these new set of rules, also the Vienna Rules of Arbitration and Mediation were revised, which were last amended in 2018, to take into account new developments in the market, as well as to open up a new field of business, namely inheritance disputes, through a new Annex 6 with special rules for disputes relating to succession and Annexes 4 and 5 for VIAC acting as Appointing or Administrating Authority. The working group responsible for drafting these amendments consisted of representatives of the VIAC Board and Secretariat as well as the National and International Advisory Board (Claudia Annacker, Alice Fremuth-Wolf, Günther Horvath, Elisabeth Kahler, Johanna Kathan-Spath, Stephan Karall, Werner Jahnel, Christian Koller, Paul Oberhammer, Patrizia Netal, Michael Nueber, Nikolaus Pitkowitz, Dietmar Prager, Lucia Raimanova, Stefan Riegler, Martin Schauer, Franz Schwarz, Irene Welser, Elke Willi, Brigitta Zöchling-Jud)).