SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Jose Piñeiro, Natàlia Ros and Laura Martín, Cases & Lacambra
• the Madrid Court of Arbitration ( Corte de Arbitraje de Madrid) • the Civil and Commercial Court of Arbitration ( Corte Civil y Mercantil de Arbitraje CIMA); • the Spanish Court of Arbitration ( Corte Española de Arbitraje ); and • the Arbitration Court of Barcelona ( Tribunal Arbitral de Barcelona ). No arbitration institution has been created in the last 12 months. However, on 1 January 2020, the Madrid International Arbitration Center ( Centro Internacional de Arbitraje de Madrid – CIAM) began its activity. CIAM was created following an agreement reached between the Madrid Court of Arbitration, CIMA and the Spanish Court of Arbitration to promote interna - tional arbitration in Spain. 1.4 National Courts In Spain, there are no specific national courts to hear disputes related to international arbitrations and/or domestic arbitrations. However, there are some national courts that have specific powers regarding international arbitration. For instance, the courts of first instance ( Juzgados de Primera Instancia ) are entitled to recognise and enforce international arbitration awards per Article 8.6 of the SAA, while the high courts of justice ( Tribu- nales Superiores de Justicia ) have jurisdiction to hear appeals for the annulment of awards. In Spain, the governing law on arbitration is the SAA, which includes both domestic and international arbi - tration. This law draws heavily on the United Nations Com - mission on International Trade Law of 21 June 1985 (the UNCITRAL Model Law). Key similarities include the requirements for a valid agreement to submit to arbitration and the adoption of interim measures in arbitration proceedings. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
However, it should be noted that, in addition to the SAA, Spanish law also incorporates the provisions relating to international arbitration established in trea - ties ratified by Spain or contained in national laws with special provisions on arbitration. The main differences between the SAA and the UNCI - TRAL Model Law include the following. • In accordance with Section 9.6 of the SAA, in international arbitrations, the arbitration agreement will be valid and the dispute shall be arbitrable if it meets the requirements stated by the law chosen by the parties to govern the arbitration agreement, by the law governing the merits of the case or by Spanish law. • In accordance with Article 15 of the SAA, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, in arbitrations that are not to be decided in equity, when the arbitra - tion is to be decided by a sole arbitrator, the arbi - trator shall be an attorney. 2.2 Changes to National Law The Spanish arbitration legislation has not been modi - fied in recent years. According to Article 9.1 of the SAA, to be valid under Spanish law, an arbitration agreement has to express the parties’ willingness to submit to arbitration all or some disputes that may arise from their legal relation - ship. In this sense, the Spanish law follows Article 7 of the UNCITRAL. Therefore, the key aspect to be considered in an arbi - tration agreement is to clearly state the intention of the parties to submit their dispute to arbitration. 3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability In addition, an arbitration agreement must be made in writing and signed by both parties or exchanged in communications between the parties which provide a record of the agreement (Article 9.3, SAA). On the other hand, in international arbitrations, the SAA expressly provides that the arbitration agreement
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