German Maritime Arbitration Association (GMAA)

WHEN you think of maritime arbitration, the likelihood is you will automatically think of London and New York. There are, however, several other maritime centres where arbitration is thriving due to the guiding influence of a dedicated arbitration association, not least in Germany.

The German Maritime Arbitration Association (GMAA) started life in 1983. In the wake of strong criticism about the effectiveness and cost of maritime arbitration proceedings in London in particular, a number of leading figures in the German shipping industry, including lawyers specialising in maritime law, set up the GMAA.

The aim was to promote, on a national and international basis, the maritime arbitration system in Germany's main port cities of Hamburg and Bremen. This was to be achieved through the creation of clear and easy-to-understand procedural rules and a simple cost structure.

The GMAA procedure

The procedure under the GMAA is very simple. The claimant appoints an arbitrator and informs the respondent. The respondent then appoints its counter-arbitrator and the two chosen arbitrators make the award, which is backed up by German national law, essentially Book 10 of the German Code of Civil Procedure. If they cannot agree, a third arbitrator is appointed. If, for any reason, they cannot agree on the third arbitrator, the GMAA selects and appoints one on behalf of the parties involved.

The arbitration can also be conducted in English without the special consent of the arbitrators. Members of the GMAA also feel that their procedure, with its background in German law, is particularly suitable for mediation.

Time and costs

The GMAA has its own arbitration rules which give guidance on the choice, appointment and duties of the arbitrator, costs, procedural principles, applicable law, settlement, etc. It also has rules covering the remuneration of the arbitrators, maturity, value of the matter in dispute and fees.

It is the appointment of the arbitrator and the fees involved that set the GMAA arbitration procedure apart from others. For example, under the GMAA rules, the parties are free to choose their own arbitrators, which do not have to be members of the GMAA. The parties also have the right to direct and organise the proceedings themselves, thus saving on costs as the parties are not required to pay a nomination or booking fee. The arbitrators' fees are fixed, based on the value in dispute.

There are also further potential cost savings as, under the GMAA procedure, one oral pleading, usually lasting only a few hours, is normally sufficient. Oral proceedings, lasting several days, do not occur. Due to the short duration of these proceedings, the time spent by the lawyers is substantially lower than it would be in London or New York. It is worth noting, however, that, under GMAA arbitration, the losing party is not only obliged to pay the tribunal's fees but also some of the legal fees of the winning party, namely the lawyer's costs within the framework of the German lawyers' fee scale which is also a value-related fee.

Members

Today, there are more than 130 members of the GMAA, with about ten new members joining each year. Many are based in Hamburg and Bremen but there are also members from as far afield as the UK, the US, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UAE.

The parties in a GMAA arbitration are not obliged to appoint an arbitrator who is a member of the association. It may be an advantage to do so, however, as GMAA members are likely to be well-versed and familiar with the shipping industry and therefore able to offer a greater insight into the dispute.

Who's who at GMAA

The management team at the GMAA is made up of experts from the shipping industry. They include:

Honorary chairman - Dr Peter Holtappels
Chairman - Dr Friedrich Strube
Deputy chairman - Jan Wolper
Deputy chairman - Andreas Plett
Treasurer - Klaus H Johns
Secretary-general - Dieter Griebel