A guide to maritime arbitration in Russia

THE Maritime Arbitration Commission at the Russian Federation's Chamber of Commerce and Industry was founded in 1930, since when it has been the only centre of specialised maritime arbitration in the Soviet Union and Russia.

The Law of the Russian Federation No 5338-1 on International Commercial Arbitration takes account of the provisions for such arbitration, as contained in international agreements of the Russian Federation and also in the model law, adopted in 1985 by the UN Commission on International Trade Law. The regulations of the Maritime Arbitration Commission of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the RF form Appendix 2 to this law.

The Maritime Arbitration Commission will settle disputes arising from contractual and other civil law transactions deriving from merchant shipping. In particular, the commission will settle disputes involving:

the affreightment of vessels, the carriage of goods by sea and the carriage of goods in mixed navigation (river-sea);
the marine towage of vessels and other floating objects;
marine insurance and reinsurance;
sale and purchase, mortgages and repairs of seagoing vessels and other floating objects;
pilotage, escorting through ice, agency or other servicing of seagoing vessels, as well as vessels engaged in inland navigation insofar as the relevant operations are connected with the sailing of such vessels on sea routes;
the use of vessels for scientific research, extraction of minerals, hydrotechnical or other work;
the salvaging of seagoing vessels or vessels involved in inland navigation
the raising of vessels or other property sunk in sea waters;
a collision between seagoing vessels, or between vessels engaged in inland navigation in sea waters, as well as damage caused by a vessel to port structures, navigational aids or other objects;
damage to fishing nets or other fishing gear, as well as injury sustained in the conduct of fishing at sea.

The Maritime Arbitration Commission will also consider disputes arising in connection with the sailing of seagoing vessels and vessels engaged in inland navigation on international rivers in the instances specified.

The commission will act where the parities have agreed to submit to its consideration a dispute which has arisen, or which may arise in the future. It can also entertain disputes which the parties are bound to refer to it by virtue of the international treaties of the Russian Federation.

The arbitration agreement may be concluded in the form of an arbitration clause or in the form of a separate agreement. The arbitration agreement must be concluded in written form. It will be considered to have been concluded in such form if it is contained in a document signed by the parties to the dispute or concluded through an exchange of letters, through communication by teletype or telegraph or with the help of other means of electronic communication.

The parties to the dispute are free to determine the number of arbitrators and to agree upon any procedure for the appointment of an arbitrator or arbitrators. No-one shall be deprived of the right to act as an arbitrator for reasons of citizenship, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

If the parties have not determined otherwise, three arbitrators will be appointed. In the absence of an agreement on procedure, each party will appoint its own arbitrators, and the two arbitrators appointed in this way will appoint the third arbitrator. If the parties have failed to appoint an arbitrator within thirty days of receipt of such a request from the other party, or if the two arbitrators have failed to reach agreement on the nomination of the third arbitrator within thirty days from the moment of their appointment, the appointment shall be made at the request of either party by the chairman of the Maritime Arbitration Commission.

Arbitration proceedings are instituted by filing a statement of claim with the Maritime Arbitration Commission. The statement of claim must contain:

the names and addresses of the parties;
the plaintiff's demands,
including the sum of the claim;
the plaintiff's signature;
substantiation of the competence of the commission to consider the given dispute;
a description of circumstances serving as the basis of the claim and an indication of evidence corroborating these circumstances;
the name of the arbitrator chosen by the plaintiff or the request for appointment of an arbitrator by the chairman of the commission;
a list of documents attached to the statement of claim. All statements relating to the arbitration proceedings and all accompanying documents submitted to the commission by each of the parties must be filed with copies for the other party or with a confirmation evidencing their having been transmitted directly to the other party.

When filing the statement of claim, the plaintiff must make an advance payment of the arbitration fee amounting to a stipulated percentage of the amount of the claim. The document evidencing the payment of the advance fees must be filed with the commission together with the statement of claim.

The parties may appoint representatives from foreign citizens or organisations and are free to agree on any language or languages to be used in the course of arbitration proceedings.

Although the seat of the Maritime Arbitration Commission and the place of its meetings shall be the city of Moscow, the arbitral tribunal considering a particular case may, if necessary, hold a meeting at another place. The parties can conduct their cases in the commission directly or through their duly authorised representatives appointed by the parties at their discretion. Such representatives may be appointed from foreign citizens or organisations. The parties are free to agree on any language or languages to be used in the course of arbitration proceedings. In the absence of such an agreement, the arbitration tribunal shall determine the language to be used. The arbitration tribunal may give orders that any documentary evidence can be translated into the language agreed upon by the parties or chosen by the arbitration tribunal.

Usually, the examination of the case at the meeting of the tribunal is conducted in the Russian language. With the consent of the parties the examination can be conducted in another language. If a party does not know the language in which the examination is conducted, the Maritime Arbitration Commission shall, at the parties' request and expense, provide the party with the services of an interpreter.

The parties can agree that the dispute be settled on the basis of written materials only, without holding a hearing. But if the materials presented prove to be insufficient, the arbitral tribunal can direct that a hearing be held, which may include oral testimony by witnesses.

In cases subject to consideration by the commission, the chairman of the commission may, at the request of a party, establish the amount and form of security for the demand, and in particular may make a ruling to attach the other party's vessel or cargo in a Russian port. At the request of any of the parties, the chairman can revise his ruling to secure the demand (e.g., he can change the form or amount of security, etc.).

The arbitration tribunal will resolve a dispute in accordance with the law chosen by the parties as applicable to the dispute's substance. In the absence of any instructions by the parties, the commission will determine the law to be applied.

The award in a case examined by a board of arbitrators shall be adopted unanimously or by a majority of votes. At any stage of the examination by the Maritime Arbitration Commission, prior to announcement of the award, the parties can agree to settle the case amicably, and the arbitral tribunal, at the parties' request, can then make an award in accordance with the amicable settlement reached by them. The commission will include in the award reference to the fact that it is an arbitral award with the same force and subject to execution in the same way as any other arbitral award.

The award will be set forth in writing, signed by the members of the arbitral tribunal, and will bear the seal of the Maritime Arbitration Commission. The award will show the place and date of its rendition, the composition of the tribunal, the names of the parties, the circumstances of the case and reasons for the decision arrived at, the tribunal's conclusion to allow or disallow the claim in full or in part, the amount of the arbitration fee and the apportionment of payment between the parties.

On a party's application filed not later than thirty days after it receives the award, unless the parties have agreed on a different time limit, the arbitral tribunal may decide to correct misprints or obvious arithmetical or any other similar errors in the award. The arbitral tribunal can also correct these errors on its own initiative within thirty days from the date of the award.

On application by a party, the arbitral tribunal is empowered to give an interpretation of some specific clause of the award. Such an interpretation will become part of the award.

An arbitration award can be set aside by a court of law only if:

the party submitting an application presents evidence that one of the parties to the arbitration agreement was, under the applicable law, subject to some incapacity; or the agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it; or the party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise unable to present its case; or the award deals with a difference not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration; or the composition of the arbitration or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with the law: or
the court rules that the subject matter of the difference is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the legislation of the Russian Federation, or the arbitration award runs counter to the public policy of the Russian Federation.

An application must be submitted not later than three months from the date of its receipt by the party submitting this application. An award of the Maritime Arbitration Commission must be carried out by the parties voluntarily. An award of the commission not carried out voluntarily shall be enforced according to law and international treaties. In this case the chairman of the commission, at the request of the party seeking enforcement, shall issue to that party a document certifying that the award has entered into legal force.

The manner of the disposal of the security established by the chairman of the Maritime Arbitration Commission shall be decided by the chairman upon the entry into legal force of an award.

The Russian Federation is a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards.

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A guide to maritime arbitration in Russia