LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Emilie Waty and Kloris Vjerdha, KLEYR_GRASSO
2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
of Commerce signed, along with the Belgian Center for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI), the Nether - lands Arbitration Institute (NAI), the Dutch Arbitration Association (DAA) and the LAA, a co-operation agree - ment to promote arbitration in the Benelux area. 1.4 National Courts In Luxembourg, there are no specialised courts expressly designated to adjudicate disputes related to international or domestic arbitration. Where an arbitra - tion proceeding is pending, state courts are required to stay any identical cases submitted to them. However, the Arbitration Law introduced in 2023 pro - vides for the involvement of state courts in support of the arbitration process, particularly through the role of the supporting judge ( juge d’appui ), as set out in Articles 1229 and 1230 of the NCCP, which is inspired by French law. The Luxembourg provisions are also consistent with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law of 1985 (the “UNICITRAL Model Law”). The supporting judge, who is the President of the Dis - trict Court sitting as in summary matters ( Président du Tribunal d’arrondissement siégeant comme en matière de référé ), may be seized either by one of the parties, by the arbitral tribunal or by one of its members, and has jurisdiction where any of the following conditions are met: • the seat of the arbitration is Luxembourg; • the parties have agreed that the arbitration will be governed by Luxembourg procedural rules; • the parties have expressly conferred jurisdiction upon the Luxembourg courts in matters related to arbitration; or • the dispute bears a significant link with Luxem - bourg. In addition, the supporting judge may also intervene in various aspects of the arbitral proceedings, in order to facilitate the process such as in the appointment of arbitrators (see 4.3 Court Intervention ) as well as in the issuance of interim and conservatory measures (see 6.2 Role of Courts ).
The Luxembourg rules governing arbitration are codi - fied within a dedicated section of the NCCP, specifi - cally in Articles 1224 to 1251, as amended by the Arbitration Law entered into force on 19 April 2023. The Law establishes mandatory provisions governing the conduct of arbitration. These include the matters that can be submitted to arbitration, the circumstanc - es under which an arbitral award might be set aside, the enforcement of arbitration awards by an order of the President of the District Court, as well as the mat - ters that are expressly excluded from arbitration. Historically, the arbitration framework in Luxembourg was primarily inspired by French law. Presently, the Luxembourg Arbitration Law is also significantly influ - enced by the UNICITRAL Model Law which has been transposed in over 100 countries and aims to harmo - nise arbitration law internationally. Although the Luxembourg Arbitration Law and the UNICITRAL Model Law are largely aligned, certain nuances persist. For instance, the 2023 Arbitration Reform introduced a maximum duration of six months for the conduct of arbitral proceedings, a procedural requirement that is not foreseen by the UNICITRAL Model Law. 2.2 Changes to National Law On 19 April 2023, Luxembourg undertook a reform of its arbitration law, aimed at modernising the exist - ing legal framework and better aligning it with the expectations of market actors as well as international standards in alternative dispute resolution. The new text applies, in principle, to arbitration agreements concluded subsequent to 25 April 2023. The reform introduced significant innovations aiming at enhancing the efficiency of arbitral proceedings. Among other things, the new text introduces the role of the supporting judge (see 1.4 National Courts ) as well as creates a swift legal framework where the maximum duration of the arbitral proceedings is set, in principle, to six months.
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