The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) will launch on Tuesday a package of enhancements to make its range of services more accessible and support the business sector and the investment environment.
The Center announced in a statement that the services include a reduction in arbitrator fees of up to 30 percent, a 50 percent reduction in initial costs for starting most arbitration proceedings, and the flexibility for parties to now agree to a new alternative fee arrangement based on arbitrators’ hourly rates.
The step is a result of the SCCA Board of Directors’ approval of several amendments to Appendix I of the Center’s Arbitration Rules. The Board aims to extend SCCA’s range of institutional arbitration services to a broader range of various sectors, sizes, and nationalities.
The amendments to Appendix 1 of the SCCA Arbitration Rules will enter into effect on September 1.
The process will require a filing party to advance a flat rate registration fee of SAR5,000 that will later be credited towards its share in administrative expenses. It reduces the initial cost in starting the arbitration proceeding by 50 percent for claims above SAR400,000.
The administrative fees start at a SAR2,000 flat rate for proceedings under the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Protocol and do not exceed SAR300,000 for any other arbitration proceedings.
SCCA has further reviewed the arbitrator fees and reduced them by up to 30 percent.
“To provide more transparency, SCCA has also introduced three pricing levels: minimum, maximum, and average,” according to the statement.
SCCA fixes the arbitrator fees on a case-by-case basis within the minimum and maximum depending on the complexity of the matter and the time and effort required by the arbitrator(s) to determine the case.
Instituting such minimum and maximum fees enables the parties to project the costs of arbitration before the commencement of the proceedings, thereby increasing predictability and transparency.
For Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), SCCA reduced the cost of its service by 40 percent to make it even more accessible to all business sectors, especially innovators, entrepreneurs, and those operating small-to large-sized enterprises.
The amendments offer options to facilitate the advancement of deposits for SCCA fees and arbitrator fees, including installment plans and the use of bank guarantees in case of more significant amounts.
The Center provides an interactive calculator that provides a preliminary assessment of the arbitration costs while comparing the various SCCA arbitration services based on the service selected and the number of arbitrators.
SSCA Chairman Walid Abanumay indicated that the amendments ensure the utility of innovative arbitration services SCCA offers alongside standard arbitration.
He explained that expedited arbitration provides “a quick path to dispute resolution at a cost that is 20 percent than standard arbitration, and online arbitration, which enables the parties to settle their dispute remotely within 30 days of the arbitrator’s appointment.”
