AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Florian Haugeneder, Patrizia Netal, Jurgita Petkutė and Natascha Tunkel, KNOETZL
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
hoc proceedings conducted under, for example, the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. 1.4 National Courts Austrian law provides for direct recourse to a special - ised chamber of the Austrian Supreme Court ( Ober- ster Gerichtshof , or OGH) as the first and final instance in proceedings to nominate or challenge arbitrators and to set aside an arbitral award. Practice in setting- aside proceedings has shown that well-reasoned decisions are generally rendered expeditiously (six to eight months, on average). As regards enforcement proceedings, the competence for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards remains with the district courts, generally at the place where the debtor or the assets are located. If the seat of the arbitration is in Austria, the arbitra - tion proceedings will be governed by Austrian arbitra - tion law. This is contained in the Fourth Chapter of the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) (Sections 577‒618 of the CCP). Since 2006, the legislation governing arbitration in Austria has been largely based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the “UNCITRAL Model Law”), with only a few minor deviations. Significantly, Austrian arbitration law does not differentiate between domestic and international arbitration. 2.2 Changes to National Law There have been no changes to Austrian arbitra - tion law in the past year, nor are there any changes planned in the immediate future. Any discussions regarding possible legislative changes are limited to clarifications (eg, regarding the delimitation of con - sumer and corporate disputes) and reinforcing Austria as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
Austria has long been established as a European hub for international arbitration and Vienna ‒ in particular, as the capital city – is a preferred venue for arbitra - tions related to the SEE and CEE regions. The legal community boasts a number of arbitration specialists providing high-end counsel and arbitrator services. The Vienna International Arbitral Centre of the Federal Economic Chamber (VIAC) provides excellent and effi - cient administration of international arbitrations. The relevance of Austria as a seat for arbitrations and a significant arbitration hub is reflected by the presence of a regional office of the Permanent Court of Arbitra - There has been a notable increase in arbitration activity in domestic disputes, particularly concern - ing construction and engineering. In the international context, energy-related disputes are on the rise in Austria, owing to the changing dynamics in the Euro - pean energy market affected by the Russia–Ukraine war. The financial services and banking sector is also increasingly turning to arbitration for dispute resolu - tion. This increase is primarily due to the higher per - ception of arbitration as a suitable form of dispute resolution for complex disputes also in the finance market. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The majority of international arbitrations in Austria are administered either by the VIAC under the Vienna Rules or by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) under the ICC Rules of Arbitration. tion (PCA) in Vienna. 1.2 Key Industries A particular point of note is that VIAC established a Legal Tech Think Tank in 2024 which issued a Note on the Use of AI in Arbitration Proceedings in April 2025. A number of arbitrations with seat in Austria are also conducted under the rules of other renowned arbitral institutions, such as the German Arbitration Institute ( Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit , or DIS), the LCIA, and the Swiss Arbitration Centre. Aus - tria is often also the chosen place of arbitration in ad
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