As professor Cristian Maturana (a Director of the CAM Santiago) advocates, the arbitration process can be classified from different points of view. Depending on how the procedure is administered and the arbitrator depending how it is appointed, the arbitration may be institutional (in the case of the CAM Santiago) or ad hoc. Depending on the subject matter of the arbitration, it can be forced, prohibited or optional. According to the way in which the arbitrator resolves the conflict, the arbitration can be based on the law or on fairness.

In the first hearing the parts and the arbitrator will set the bases of the procedure in accordance to the agreement of them and the Rules of Arbitration (for domestic arbitrations) or to the Rules of International Commercial Arbitrations.

The Dispute Board (or Dispute Resolution Board) is an adequate mechanism for the early and peaceful resolution of disputes which consists of an independent panel of experts, made up of 1 or 3 people who assist the parties during the term and execution of the contract, solving contractual disputes by pronouncing decisions or recommendations.

To access our international arbitration service, we recommend you to including in your contract our standard clause on international commercial arbitration and making explicit reference to the Rules of International Commercial Arbitration of the CAM.

According to the CAM’s Rules of Arbitration Procedural, no remedies proceed against the final verdict. Therefore, the parties renounce to all those actions that by law are renounceable, unless the parties expressly agree that the verdict can be appealed, either at the arbitral tribunal of second-instance or the corresponding Chilean Appeals Court. In general terms, if the parties expressly agree that remedies proceed: the remedies of appeal and cassation against the verdict of a arbitration tribunal will be known by the the court that would have heard of them if they had been brought onto an ordinary trial. However, the cassation on the merits will never proceed against the sentences of arbitrators  ex aequo et bono; and the remedy of appeal only proceeds against final verdict when the parties, in the instrument in which they constitute the commitment, express that they reserve said remedy for other arbitrators of the same character/nature and designate the persons who are to hold this position.

The Arbitration and Mediation Centre (CAM) of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS) has its own Rules of International Commercial Arbitration. Furthermore, in accordance with article 1.2 of the ICC Arbitration Rules, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the only body authorized to administer arbitration under the terms of those Rules.

  According to Law Number 19.971, an arbitration is considered international if: a) The parties that have agreed to have an arbitration have, at the time of that agreement, their establishments in different States, or b) One of the following places is located outside of the State in which the parties have their establishments: i) The place of arbitration, if it has been determined in the arbitration agreement or pursuant to the arbitration agreement; ii) The place of performance of a substantial part of the obligations of the commercial relationship or the place with which the object of the dispute has a closer relationship, or c) The parties have expressly agreed that the matter object of the arbitration is related to more than one State. On the other hand, if one of the parties has more than one office, the office will be the one that has a closer relationship with the arbitration agreement; and if a party does not have any office, their habitual residence will be taken into account.  

According with Law Number 19,971, the expression “commercial” must be interpreted in a broad sense so that it encompasses all the issues that arise in relationships of this nature, contractual or not. These include, for example, any commercial operation of supply or exchange of goods or services, distribution agreement, representation or commercial mandate, transfer of credits for collection, leasing of capital goods with option to purchase, construction of works, consulting, engineering, licensing, investment, financing, banking, insurance, operating agreement or concession, business associations and other forms of industrial or commercial cooperation, transport of goods or passengers by air, sea, rail or byroad/highway.

The international arbitral tribunal has the power to decide on its own jurisdiction, including on the exceptions relating to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. For this purpose, an arbitration clause that is part of a contract will be considered as an independent agreement from the other terms of the contract. The decision of the arbitration tribunal deciding that the contract is null shall not ipso jure imply to the nullity of the arbitration clause.

The seat is a legal concept, while the place of arbitration is a concept that refers to a physical space. The seat of an arbitration influences the domestic courts that will support the arbitration (for instance the Court of Appeals of a given city, upon hearing a petition for annulment) and the law applicable to the case. In the other hand, the place of arbitration refers to the place where the arbitral tribunal may meet to either hold deliberations among its members, to hear witnesses, experts or parties, to examine merchandise consignments or other property or documents.  

Against an international arbitration award, only the request for annulment before the respective Court of Appeals is admissible, which can only be interposed three months from the date of receipt of the award or, if the petition has been made in accordance with Article 33 of Law Number 19971 (correction and interpretation of the award and additional award), from the date such request has been resolved by the arbitration tribunal.

The mediators’ team within the nominee of the CAM Santiago are renowned professionals, who have been brought up and trained in collaborative conflict resolution mechanisms; they have significant experience in the field of commercial conflicts. You can learn about their profiles by visiting our nominee section.