SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alfonso López-Ibor, Pablo Henriquez de Luna, Virginia Jover and Pedro Echeguren, Lopez-Ibor DPM
13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration Arbitrations conducted in Spain are regulated by the 2003 Act on Arbitration (SAA), which applies only in the absence of provisions by the corre- sponding court’s rules. The enforcement of arbitral awards rendered in Spain is carried out in accordance with the SCPA in the same terms as a court judgment. Lastly, regarding foreign arbitral awards, their enforcement in Spain is subject to their prior rec- ognition in the country through the procedure set out in the New York Convention of 1958. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Arbitration in Spain only can extend to civil and private matters within the free will of the parties. It is understood that this limitation excludes arbi- tration in labour, administrative and criminal mat- ters, as well as in civil issues where the public interest is at stake (family law, competency, etc). 13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award Arbitral awards in Spain may only be set aside (annulled) in very specific circumstances, if the challenging party alleges and duly proves that: • the arbitration agreement does not exist or, if it does exist, is null and void; • the applicant has not been notified about the appointment of an arbitrator or about any order, or the applicant has not been able to exercise its rights; • the arbitrators have ruled on matters beyond the scope of their power;
• the appointment of the arbitrators and/or the proceeding is in breach of the parties’ agree- ment or, failing the parties’ agreement, is contrary to the SAA; • the arbitrators have decided on matters that may not be subject to arbitration; and/or • the award is contrary to public order. 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration For details on the enforcement of arbitral awards, both foreign and domestic, please see 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration . 14. Outlook 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform As of the writing of this article (November 2024), as mentioned in 1.2 Court System and 3.1 Court Filings and Proceedings , there are is currently an ongoing legislative initiative for dispute reso- lution reform regarding, inter alia, the transfor- mation of the judicial structure and the intro- duction of mandatory attempts at out-of-court settlements prior to filing a civil lawsuit. Since this bill is still in an early stage of parlia- mentary debate, the proposed text will be sub- ject to in-depth amendments and revisions, as the political parties introduce reforms. In view of this, an analysis of this proposed reform is not considered necessary until the bill is approved and its definitive version takes full effect. 14.2 Growth Areas Lately, there has been a rapid increase in cases relating to electronics payments, crypto-assets claims and disputes, and, broad speaking, digi-
1314 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook