Connecting Businesses

The DIS User Council was established in 2016 with the aim of fostering and developing a partnership between the DIS and its users in the field of alternative dispute resolution and arbitration. Within the framework of the User Council, the DIS - together with in-house counsel - organises informal regional events, to which company representatives are invited. In these meetings, current topics relevant to companies are discussed. The events also provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience and the development of innovations in the field of ADR and arbitration. The User Council events are held at DIS offices or at the premises of companies.

The topics of past events include technological expertise in arbitration, the impact of the Achmea decision, the 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules, Dispute Managers in the new 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules, measures to increase procedural efficiency, conflicts of interest from an institutional perspective, and dispute settlement clauses.

The User Council events are announced here:

German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHKs) represent the interests of German businesses. There are currently 79 Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Germany and the DIS has signed cooperation agreements with 24 Chambers. Many IHKs are also members of the DIS.

The IHKs that have signed cooperation agreements with the DIS offer arbitration rules to their respective members which refer to the DIS arbitration rules. When a request for arbitration is received by the IHK, it will forward such request to the DIS Secretariat. The administration of the arbitration, including correspondence with the parties and arbitrators as well as the settlement of accounts, will be carried out by the DIS. The arbitration is governed by the 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules. However, arbitrator appointments are made by the President of the IHK. 

The following IHKs have signed a cooperation agreement with the DIS:

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ostwestfalen zu Bielefeld
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mittleres Ruhrgebiet
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bonn/Rhein-Sieg
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Darmstadt Rhein Main Neckar
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Lahn-Dill
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Erfurt
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Frankfurt am Main
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ostthüringen zu Gera
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Heilbronn-Franken
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cologne
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mittlerer Niederrhein
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rhein-Neckar
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Munichn and Oberbayern
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nord Westfalen (Münster)
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nürnberg for Mittelfranken
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Reutlingen
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Regensburg for Oberpfalz/Kelheim
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Siegen
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Region Stuttgart
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Südthüringen
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ulm
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bodensee-Oberschwaben