THE GATEWAY TO ARBITRATION – THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT - TRAINING FOR HUNGARIAN LAWYERS

14 December 2023

On 30 November 2023 our managing partner dr.Richard Schmidt LL.M gave a lecture on contemporary issues of the arbitration agreement to lawyers of the Budapest Bar Association in the framework of the training course „Arbitration and other Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods” jointly organised by the Budapest Bar and the Hungarian Arbitration Association.

In 2023 autumn, the Hungarian Arbitration Association (“HAA”) and the Budapest Bar Association (“BBA”) launched a training course to make arbitration and other alternative dispute settlement methods more popular among Hungarian lawyers.

Dr.Richard Schmidt, Board Member of the HAA is one of the organizers of this training course  including 8 (eight) modules, presenting the full spectrum of the alternative dispute resolution process.

Richard held the 3^rd module of the training course on 30 November 2023 with the title “The Arbitration Agreement and its enforcement in front of the state courts”. The aim of the lecture was to give participants a snapshot of the main tendencies of Hungarian and international case law regarding the arbitration agreement, which is the gateway to arbitration.

Richard started his presentation by recalling the three contemporary concepts of international arbitration, the so-called mono-local, multi-local and the sui generis concept arbitration, and continued with the fundamental legal characteristics of the arbitration agreement, including its positive and negative effects, and the rights and obligations of the parties arising upon such an agreement.

The lecture continued with the principle of autonomy of the arbitration agreement and its far-reaching consequences both in the field of substantive law and conflict of laws.

In the next part of the lecture Richard focused on the formation and validity of the arbitration agreement, including the issue of incorporation of arbitration clauses in standard terms, the conclusion of arbitration clauses through agent or representative, and the question of pathological arbitration clauses.

Richard continued with discussing the interpretation and the scope of the arbitration agreement, including its subject-matter scope and personal scope, and its eventual extension to other contracts and to third parties, who have not signed the arbitration clause (non-signatories).

Richard closed   his lecture with the fundamental issues of enforcing arbitration agreements in front of state courts, including the Kompetenz-Kompetenz principle, the invalidity, ineffectiveness and inoperability of the arbitration agreement.

Thanks to the HAA and BBA for organizing this event, at to all participants for their interesting questions.