In 2008, arbitration culture remained unpopular in Spain. This is partly due to the fact, on the one hand, that business people do not yet fully appreciate the benefits which this conflict resolution mechanism holds for their businesses and, on the other hand, is a result of most Spanish lawyers not promoting it as best they could. Why is this so?

Maybe people are afraid of attaching importance to a tool which to date has not acquired enough prestige in Spain and, as a result of ignorance, generates distrust. This is our main challenge, as we strongly believe in the virtues of arbitration and see it as the ideal conflict resolution tool that makes up for the shortcomings in the ordinary judicial system.

Our duty is to convey the legitimacy of arbitration, the impartiality of conflict resolution and the benefits of this mechanism for businesses and for the legal profession (speed, cost-effectiveness, specialization…).

The few results which are leaked to the press about the number of arbitration proceedings handled by the various Spanish courts are not as positive as we would like. Nevertheless, in the case of certain courts, the number of arbitration proceedings dealt with has increased, as demonstrated by the records of the Spanish Court of Arbitration of the Chambers of Commerce (Corte Española de Arbitraje de las Cámaras de Comercio); in other courts this increase is not so clear, as said growth was recorded some years ago.

In our case, figures from 2008 strengthen our position within the sector and encourage us to continue working in the same vein. The number of arbitration proceedings that we dealt with rose by 74%, partly thanks to the real estate sector which represented more than 80% all proceedings handled. Arbitration proceedings from the industry sector also grew considerably from 2007. The second largest number of arbitration proceedings managed by our Association came from the service sector, although the number of cases resolved through arbitration in this category dropped compared to the previous year.   

Our belief in the effectiveness of arbitration and in the positive impact that it can have on business activity, together with our absolute conviction that arbitration is the ideal tool to resolve conflicts, spurs us on to continue working to promote knowledge and awareness of arbitration.