A TRADITION OF ARBITRATION

Scots Law has long recognised and supported the freedom of contracting parties to take a dispute to arbitration and avoid recourse to the courts The procedure is widely used in commercial, agricultural, professional, and increasingly consumer disputes are frequently settled under arbitration agreements. Indeed, every matter which might be subject for dispute may be arbitrated in Scotland except matters affecting public policy or status.

Practitioners and disputants in arbitration enjoy the support of the courts, but seldom have to suffer their interference Thus they avoid the time consuming and costly procedures of litigation

THE UNCITRAL MODEL LAW

This tradition of arbitration was extended by statute under Schedule 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions Scotland) Act 1990 when the Model Law for international commercial arbitration, agreed by the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). was incorporated into the Law of Scotland. It provides disputants with a familiar legal framework within which to conduct arbitration, unlike England, where the Model law has not been recognised.
The full text of the UNCITRAL Model Law can be seen at the UNCITRAL Web site
http://www.uncitral.org/en-index.htm

THE SCOTTISH ARBITRATION CODE FOR USE IN
DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATIONS

In 1999 the Scottish Code for use in Domestic & International Arbitrations was introduced. This Code provides a framework of rules and procedures based on the UNCITRAL Model Law and existing Scottish Law. It provides a coherent basis for conducting arbitrations. For more information on the Scottish Code see the page on THE SCOTTISH ARBITRATION CODE 1999.