AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Florian Haugeneder, Patrizia Netal, Jurgita Petkutė and Natascha Tunkel, KNOETZL
8.3 Powers of Compulsion In general, arbitral tribunals do not have any powers of compulsion but may instead request court assis - tance regarding the collection of evidence or the inter - rogation of a witness who does not appear voluntarily. Arbitral tribunals have no power to force a witness to testify or to enjoin a refusing party to produce a document. An arbitral tribunal that has its seat in Austria may turn to Austrian and foreign courts for legal assistance and may by these means obtain the testimony of a reluctant witness or the production of a document. There is no difference between the witness testimony of parties and unrelated witnesses. Austrian arbitration law does not contain any explicit provisions on the confidentiality of arbitral proceed - ings. While arbitral proceedings are private, there is no provision in Austrian law obliging the parties to keep the arbitral proceedings confidential (including plead - ings, documents, and the award). If confidentiality is desired, the parties are advised to agree on confiden - tiality in the arbitration agreement or elsewhere, such as in the terms of reference or a similar document. The Vienna Rules contain provisions binding the arbi - tral institution and arbitrators to confidentiality, but not the parties. Austrian arbitration law does provide that the public may be excluded from setting-aside proceedings if this is requested by one of the parties. 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
by the arbitrator(s). Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the award must also state the reasons on which it is based. The making of an award is not subject to any time limits, unless a time limit is agreed by the parties. The Vienna Rules set a time limit for the issuance of an award ‒ ie, an award shall be rendered no later than three months after the last hearing concerning mat - ters to be decided in the award or the filing of the last authorised submission, whichever is later. This time period may be extended by the VIAC’s Secretary Gen - eral upon reasoned request from the arbitral tribunal or on its own initiative. 10.2 Types of Remedies Austrian arbitration law does not contain any express provisions on the types of remedies that an arbitral tribunal may award. Generally, the available remedies – as well as any limits thereto or prescription periods ‒ must be determined by reference to the law applicable to the merits. The remedy of punitive damages is not known under Austrian law. In principle, the concept of punitive dam - ages is considered contrary to Austrian public policy. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs Austrian arbitration law does not contain any express provisions on whether the parties are entitled to recov - er interest. In most cases, this will depend on the law applicable to the merits. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, they are entitled to recover legal costs (encompassing the rea - sonable costs of legal representation, the fees of the arbitrators, and – where applicable – the administra - tive costs charged by the institution). Both Austrian law and the Vienna Rules provide that the arbitral tri - bunal must render a decision on costs upon termina - tion of the proceedings, including in cases where the arbitral tribunal ultimately finds it has no jurisdiction. The general practice with regard to allocating costs between the parties is to take into account all circum - stances of the case, with a particular focus on the outcome of the proceedings. The Austrian Supreme Court has held (in OGH 18 OCg 5/21s) that it is not a
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
In arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitra - tor, any decision of the arbitral tribunal shall be made by a majority of the arbitrators, including any arbitral award. The parties may, however, agree otherwise and require a unanimous decision to be rendered. The fur - ther requirements for an arbitral award are that it must be made in writing, state the date on which it was rendered and the seat of the arbitration, and be signed
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