In the joint event of 9 January 2024 of the DIS Practice Group on Settlement and the DAA/DIA/DIS Arbitration Group Lotte Eskesen (Gorrissen Federspiel), Mikal Brøndmo (Haavind) and Robin Oldenstam (Mannheimer Swartling) discussed the approaches of arbitrators in Denmark, Norway and Sweden to settlement facilitation. The event was moderated by Nicoletta Kröger (CORVEL) and Ulrike Gantenberg (Gantenberg Legal).
The panelists lively discussed how Danish, Norwegian and Swedish arbitration practitioners approach and perceive settlement facilitation in arbitration. It can be stated that in all three jurisdictions there is a great reluctance towards settlement facilitation. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish parties not only do not expect settlement facilitation by arbitrators, but the majority would be rather irritated if an arbitral tribunal were to propose settlement facilitation. Unlike the DIS Arbitration Rules, for example in Art. 26, the Arbitration Rules in Denmark, Norway and Sweden do not mention settlement facilitation. There is also no arbitration culture in this regard.
It will be interesting to see whether there will be changes in the approaches and arbitration cultures in the future, influenced, for example, by the recently published recommendations 'Facilitating Settlement in International Arbitration' of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR.
Nicoletta Kröger