21 - Judicial Control of Arbitral Awards in Switzerland

Summary

Switzerland has long been a New York Convention (NY Convention)¹ state. Although Switzerland’s arbitration law is not based on the UNCITRAL Model Law (Model Law), it does by and large conform to the fundamental principles of the Model Law as amended in 2006, in particular in relation to the interpretation of arbitration agreements, and the vacation and enforcement of international arbitration awards.

Swiss law distinguishes between international arbitration and domestic arbitration. This proceeds from article 176 of Switzerland’s arbitration statute,of the Swiss Private International Law Act² (PIL), which defines the scope of international arbitration as arbitrations with their seat in Switzerland and in which, at the time of the conclusion of the arbitration agreement,³ at least one of the parties had neither its domicile nor its habitual residence in Switzerland. Domicile for registered corporate entities is treated as the place of formal registration.⁴ For registered corporate entities, habitual residence does not apply. No other provision in Swiss international arbitration law is more stringent than those under the NY Convention.⁵