Since 15 March 2024, the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) offers supplementary rules that allow for the filing of third-party notices in an arbitration.
These Supplementary Rules for Third-Party Notices (DIS-TPNR) are available in German and English here.
For example, a general contractor can use a third-party notice to avoid losing out to its employer in a legal dispute but not being able to take recourse against its subcontractor because the same issues are decided differently in the recourse proceedings. The need for such rules is therefore significant.
With these rules, the DIS fills a gap. Until now, parties to an arbitration were not able to file third-party notices, as allowed by the German Code of Civil Procedure for proceedings before the German state courts. This applied equally to DIS arbitrations and to proceedings under the rules of other leading arbitral institutions. The DIS is the first arbitral institution to offer supplementary rules to bridge this gap. Model clauses for agreeing upon the DIS-TPNR can be found here.
For more information on DIS-ERS, please refer to today's press release.