Originally from:
Between East and West: Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke - Hardcover
Between East and West: Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke - Electronic
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Ulf Franke —Thirty-five Years and Afterwards
Johan Gernandt
I. INTRODUCTION
The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
(the “SCC Institute”) was founded in 1917. At the beginning, the SCC
Institute handled mostly domestic and Nordic-regional cases. It started to
expand when Ulf Franke became Secretary General in 1975. Ulf Franke has
run the SCC Institute very successfully all these years since then.
The most important and significant event in the development of the
SCC Institute into a favoured venue for international arbitrations occurred
in 1977. At that time the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and
the USSR Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“USSR Chamber”) agreed
to recommend their respective members to include in their commercial
agreements a standard clause to resolve disputes in Stockholm. This
agreement was the result of a study of the Swedish Arbitration Act, which
began in 1973 with the help of the SCC Institute.
After the AAA and the USSR Chamber entered into their agreement
in 1977, the Chinese arbitration institute, China International Economic and
Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”), also became interested in
Sweden as a forum for the resolution of Chinese-related disputes. It has
since become customary for Chinese companies to choose the SCC Institute.
It is now possible to say that Ulf Franke’s appointment in 1975 was the start
of what has become a fantastic period of development for the SCC Institute.
Mr. Howard Holzmann (AAA), Professor Sergei Lebedev (USSR
Chamber) and Professor Tang Houzhi (CIETAC) have been leaders in this
development. All three were honoured for this in 2003 when they received
the Order of the Polar Star from His Majesty the King of Sweden at a
ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
II. MAIN POINTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCC INSTITUTE
In 1992, the AAA and the Russian Chamber of Commerce (the USSR
Chamber´s successor) renewed the original 1977 agreement. CIETAC, as
noted above, followed after 1977 and recommended Chinese parties to
choose the Stockholm Rules, if the foreign party did not accept the
CIETAC Rules.
Johan Gernandt is Counsel with the Vinge law firm. He is Chairman of the SCC Institute; Chairman of the Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law, Stockholm University; and a Member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration.