Amendment to the Rules for the Logistics Court of Arbitration at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce

Resolved by Decision
of the Plenum of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
on the May 4, 2006

Preamble

The Court of Arbitration of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce Hamburg conducts out-of-court settlements for commercial disputes. The general Rules of the Court of Arbitration of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce (Rules) may be agreed upon for all types of disputes across industries.

This Amendment to the Rules for the Logistics Court of Arbitration at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce (Amendment) allows for the significance of Hamburg’s logistical location and the special needs of the logistics industry. The objective of the Amendment is to offer an especially effective approach to the solution of disputes among partners of this sector or for disputes with reference to the logistics sector by means of separate treatments.

The quality of the proceedings mainly depends upon the selection of qualified arbitrators. The free choice of arbitrators in the arbitration proceedings allows the parties to appoint respectable logistics experts as arbitrators. The parties are not bound to a list of arbitrators. If necessary, specialized lawyers and/or non-legal experts may be appointed as arbitrators. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce supports and consults the parties when selecting the arbitrators, if required.

§ 1 Scope of Application

(1.1) According to the Amendment, the Court of Arbitration of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce decides on disputes among parties from the logistics industry and/or conflicts with regard to the logistics industry, provided that the parties agreed accordingly[1].

(1.2) Insofar as no special provisions were made in §§ 1 to 4, the provisions of the general Rules shall apply.

(1.3) The Rules and the Amendment shall apply in their current version valid on the day of the commencement of arbitral proceedings, provided the parties have not agreed otherwise.

§ 2 Acceleration of the Proceedings

(2.1) The basic principle of accelerated proceedings applies. Time periods may only be extended for coherently argued reasons and only in exceptional cases.

(2.2) The 30-day-terms for the appointment of arbitrators named in §§ 2.2 and 2.5 of the general Rules are shortened to two weeks.

(2.3) All time periods determined by the arbitration court may be shortened to up to one week in pressing cases.

§ 3 Mediation

(3.1) Each party may apply for the implementation of a mediation with the “Hamburg Center for Mediation for Business Disputes” during the proceedings. The other party shall be informed about the application.

(3.2.) The application neither interferes with nor suspends the proceedings. The other party is obliged to submit an opinion without measurable delay.

(3.3) If the parties agree upon the implementation of a mediation, § 251 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) applies for the suspension of arbitration proceedings.

§ 4 Partial Awards

Partial awards are possible, especially to accelerate proceedings in the case of multiple party proceedings or counter-claims.

Hamburg, Mai 2006

[1]For the Court of Arbitration Agreement, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce advises the following wording: “All conflicts, which result from a context with this contract (exact name of the contract) or from its validity, will be settled by the Logistics Court of Arbitration at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce to the exclusion of courts of justice and under the application of the Amendment to the Rules for the Logistics Court of Arbitration at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. ... law shall apply to the proceedings.“