SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vesna Cukrov and Veronika Cukrov, Law Firm Cukrov (Odvetniška družba Cukrov o.p., d.o.o.)
future award may be satisfied or preserving evidence relevant to the dispute. 6.2 Role of Courts The Slovenian courts may order interim measures in support of arbitration both before and during the arbitral proceedings, irrespective of whether the seat of arbitration is in Slovenia, and such measures are enforced under the general rules on enforcement and security. The Slovenian Arbitration Act does not regulate the appointment of emergency arbitrators, nor does it provide a statutory framework governing emergency arbitrator proceedings. However, parties may agree to institutional arbitration rules that provide for an emergency arbitrator mechanism, such as those of certain international arbitral institutions. In such cases, the powers and the binding effect of decisions of an emergency arbitrator are determined by the applicable institutional rules rather than Slovenian law. 6.3 Security for Costs The Slovenian Arbitration Act does not contain spe - cific provisions authorising arbitral tribunals or courts to order security for costs. Consequently, there is no express statutory framework governing security for costs in arbitration under Slovenian law. However, an arbitral tribunal may, unless the parties agree other - wise, order security for costs under its general power to grant interim measures, provided that the statutory requirements for such measures are satisfied. The Slovenian Arbitration Act provides that the arbitral tribunal may require any party to provide appropriate security in connection with such an interim measure. In addition, the availability of security for costs may derive from the applicable institutional arbitra - tion rules. A number of institutional rules expressly empower arbitral tribunals to order security for costs or are sufficiently broad to encompass such relief as an interim measure. Unlike the Slovenian Arbitration Act, which contains no specific provisions on security for costs, a novelty introduced by the 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules (Arti - cle 53) is that the tribunal is expressly empowered to order security for costs. In the aforementioned case
of Ascent Resources Plc and Ascent Slovenia Ltd v Republic of Slovenia , Slovenia invoked this provision, apparently taking the view that Ascent Resources Plc would be unable to satisfy an adverse costs award; the claimant had financed the proceedings through external sources, including after-the-event insurance. The content of the procedural order concerning the request for security for costs is not, however, publicly known.
7. Procedure 7.1 Governing Rules
The principal legislation governing arbitration pro - ceedings in Slovenia is the Slovenian Arbitration Act, which entered into force in 2008 and is largely based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Com - mercial Arbitration. The Act regulates, among other matters: • the arbitration agreement; • the constitution and jurisdiction of the tribunal; • the conduct of proceedings; and • the making, recognition and enforcement of awards. In addition to the Arbitration Act, parties may agree that the arbitration will be conducted under the rules of an arbitral institution. The principal institutional rules in Slovenia are the Arbitration Rules of the Ljubljana Arbitration Centre at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (the “Ljubljana Arbitration Rules”). Where the parties adopt institutional rules, those rules govern the procedure to the extent that they are con - sistent with the mandatory provisions of the Slovenian Arbitration Act. Where the Republic of Slovenia is the respondent in investment treaty arbitration, however, procedural steps are prescribed not by the Arbitration Act but by the applicable treaty and institutional rules, and these can differ materially from the party-autonomy model described previously. In Ascent Resources Plc and Ascent Slovenia Ltd v Republic of Slovenia , the ICSID Arbitration Rules allowed procedural partici - pation by parties outside the dispute. In this case, a non-disputing party’s application to file a written sub -
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