On 19 June 2020, the Swiss legislature adopted a revision of Chapter 12 of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA) which governs international arbitration proceedings seated in Switzerland This revision, which has come into force on 1 January 2021, was deliberately kept ”light” in order to maintain the current structure and framework of Chapter 12 PILA which has made its success to date The new provisions are intended to strengthen Switzerland’s already recognised attractiveness as a place for international arbitration
From this perspective, the revision strengthens the autonomy of the parties, in particular by allowing them to seize a state court judge in Switzerland (juge d’appui) when the seat of the arbitral tribunal is not determined in the arbitration agreement, or by expressly recognising the validity of arbitration clauses in unilateral legal acts In addition, the revision codifies certain principles of the case-law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, such as the obligation to immediately raise any procedural violation, or the possibility to request the rectification, interpretation or an additional award from the arbitral tribunal or to file a request for revision before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court The new law also clarifies other questions raised by the case-law, such as the scope of application of Chapter 12 LDIP or the admissibility of an appeal against an arbitral award to the Federal Supreme Court regardless of the amount in dispute The revision also contributes to facilitating the application of the law, for example, by removing references to domestic arbitration law and by allowing parties to directly request the assistance of the juge d’appui for the enforcement of provisional measures or the administration of evidence Last but not least, parties will now be able to submit their pleadings to the Federal Court in appeal or review proceedings against an arbitral award in English