Partner Erhard Böhm was one of the speakers at the roadshow for the presentation of the new 2013 Rules of Arbitration of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (“Vienna Rules”; “VIAC”). The roadshow took place on 23 January 2014 in Bucharest. It was jointly organized by VIAC and the Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania.

The new Vienna Rules took effect from 1 July 2013 and apply to all arbitrations initiated on or after that date.

The main features of the new Vienna Rules concern expedited procedures, the removal of arbitrators in case of inactivity, the costs of arbitration in case of the non-payment of the advance on costs by a party and, most notably, the rules on multi-party proceedings, joinder of third parties and consolidation of proceedings.

The 2013 Vienna Rules can be downloaded here.

Another notable change in Austrian arbitration law took place with effect from 1 January 2014. From that date, the Austrian Supreme Court is the one and only instance for award setting-aside motions. This legislative amendment puts Austria at par with Switzerland where the federal Tribunal is the only instance for such motions.