俄罗斯仲裁改革——新法对俄罗斯仲裁意味着什么？

背 景

对《俄罗斯仲裁法》（“《新法》”）的重大修订早在2016年9月就已生效。《新法》旨在为俄罗斯国内和国际仲裁建立现代和有效的机制，并为俄罗斯使用仲裁存在的一些问题提供解决办法。下文将对这些变化及其影响进行考虑。

主要变化

仲裁改革带来的主要变化包括：

·引入一种新制度，将各行业协会（非商业组织）设立的仲裁机构确认为“常设仲裁机构”——该程序须符合法定条件，并得到俄罗斯政府的批准，才能履行这些职能；

·在法律上承认与俄罗斯法人实体的成立、管理或参与股本有关的大多数争议的可仲裁性（“公司争议”）；

·第一类公司争议（例如，与股权持有（所有权）和股权担保利益以及股权执行有关的争议）只能由常设仲裁机构管理的仲裁进行审理；

·第二类企业争议（例如，涉及以下事项的争议：股东协议、股东请求赔偿对公司造成的损失以及确认公司的相关交易无效，公司的管理和运行机构的行为和/或公司作出的担保）由常设仲裁机构根据有关公司争议的特殊仲裁规则进行审理。第2类争议只能在以下条件下仲裁：受争议的公司，其所有股东以及在案件中作为申请人或被申请人的其他当事人都必须是仲裁协议的当事人。

·如果在不符合上述要求的情况下将第1类或第2类公司争议提交仲裁，可能影响仲裁裁决在俄罗斯的可执行性，并为俄罗斯国家法院接受管辖和审理争议提供依据。

仲裁机构的类型

《新法》对具有不同地位和权利的几类仲裁机构进行如下区分。

俄罗斯常设仲裁机构

根据特别委员会的建议，在收到俄罗斯政府的许可证后，可以在符合某些法定条件的情况下设立常设仲裁机构。未得到此种批准的机构不能在俄罗斯作为常设仲裁机构管理涉及任何公司争议（包括第1类和第2类）的仲裁，但如果特定类型的争议允许，这些机构可以在俄罗斯继续作为临时仲裁庭审理这类争议。

如果常设仲裁机构想继续审理第2类公司争议，它需要有一套专门的公司仲裁规则。根据法律，这种规则应当包括：

·向公司和公司的所有股东发送争议通知；

·在常设仲裁机构网站上公布请求信息； 

·赋予各股东加入请求的权利。

仲裁地可以由当事人选择，但第2类公司争议的仲裁地必须在俄罗斯。在此基础上，目前以下俄罗斯仲裁机构符合俄罗斯法律的要求，包括审理第1类和第2类公司争议：

·ICAC——俄罗斯联邦工商会国际商事仲裁院；

·MAC——俄罗斯联邦工商会海事仲裁委员会；

·RSPP——俄罗斯工业家和企业家联盟仲裁中心；

·RIMA——俄罗斯现代仲裁协会仲裁中心。

外国常设仲裁机构

如果外国仲裁机构在俄罗斯享有“广泛的国际声誉”，那么它可以被批准在俄罗斯作为常设仲裁机构，并能够根据特别委员会的推荐获得俄罗斯政府的许可证。如果获得批准，外国常设仲裁机构将有权审理第1类公司争议。为了管理第2类公司争议，它还应当颁布具体的公司规则，并准备在俄罗斯设立一个仲裁地审理争议。

知名仲裁机构如LCIA、ICC、SCC、SIAC和HKIAC，尚未公开确认是否打算提出申请。然而，鉴于《新法》生效至今已有两年，还没有机构申请许可证，因此，他们申请许可证的可能性似乎很低。

目前，俄罗斯法律不要求申请常设仲裁机构许可证的外国仲裁机构必须在俄罗斯设有分支机构或代表处。然而，有一项立法建议（尚未得到俄罗斯议会的确认）提出，外国常设仲裁机构也应当在俄罗斯设有办事处。

常设仲裁机构的地位主要是为了审理公司争议。如果一个国际仲裁机构在俄罗斯没有获得常设仲裁机构的地位，那么该机构作出的涉及企业争议的裁决可能不能被俄罗斯承认和执行。这些机构对其他类型的争议（如金融交易争议等）作出的裁决基本不受影响，并应根据1958年《纽约公约》的一般原则执行，并受与这种执行有关的一般法定程序和限制的约束。

概括而言，俄罗斯目前主要的仲裁机构包括：

·    ICAC

ICAC成立于1932年，总部位于莫斯科，是俄罗斯和东欧的领先的仲裁机构。2016年，ICAC共审理272个案件（相比于LCIA审理的303个，ICC审理199个）。2017年，34%的当事人来自俄罗斯和独联体国家，约33%来自欧盟，17%来自亚洲。约64%的案件涉及供应争议，13%涉及服务合同争议，9%涉及建筑合同争议。ICAC有四套不同的特定规则，分别适用于（1）国际争议；（2）国内争议；（3）公司争议；以及（4）体育争议。此外，ICAC也为不同类别的仲裁员设置了独立的推荐名册。

国际争议的推荐仲裁员名册的审查表明，约20%的仲裁员是来自主要国际和国内律师事务所的国际学者和法律从业人员。应当指出的是，当事人不限于从名册中选择仲裁员，并可提名自己的仲裁员。

一个三人仲裁庭审理一项请求金额为1000万美元的国际争议，其费用约为91500美元。

·    RSPP

RSPP成立于1991年，是一个保护工业家和企业家利益的非政治组织，拥有自己的仲裁机构。RSPP在莫斯科设有办事处，也是其审理大多数争议的所在地。

RSPP有一套针对国内、国际和公司争议的规则。它还为各种类型的争议提供一份推荐的仲裁员名册，但当事人可以自由选择自己的仲裁员，或从RSPP的补充数据库中选择仲裁员。在推荐的仲裁员名册中，约有17%的仲裁员是来自主要国际和国内律师事务所的国际学者和法律从业人员。

一个三人仲裁庭审理一项请求金额为1000万美元的国际争议，其费用约为54,700美元。

·    RIMA

RIMA成立于2016年秋季，在新仲裁法案生效之后。它是一个新的仲裁机构，通过现代的争议解决方法和为仲裁社区安排各种活动，致力于在俄罗斯发展仲裁。

RIMA总部设在莫斯科，在符拉迪沃斯托克和加里宁格勒设有代表处。到目前为止，它已审理了仲裁地为莫斯科的仲裁。

RIMA有一套规则用来审理国内、国际和企业争议。

RIMA有一份推荐的仲裁员名册，其中13%是来自主要国际和国内律师事务所的国际学者和法律从业人员。与其他仲裁机构一样，当事人可以自由选择不在名册中的仲裁员。RIMA还通过提供对仲裁员数据库的访问来协助当事人；国际数据库中约17%的仲裁员是主要国际律师事务所的代表。

一个三人仲裁庭审理一项请求金额为1000万美元的国际争议，其费用约为76,520美元。当事人可以选择按小时支付仲裁员费用（国际仲裁费用大约为每小时450美元）。

尽管是一个新的仲裁机构，RIMA表示其已经审理了约100个案件，其中涉及政府公司RosAtom的争议约80个（RIMA 为RosAtom争议设立了专门分支）和涉及其他公司的争议约20个（目前只有国内争议，仲裁员为最高法院的前法官）。

评 论

改革还没有完全落实，还存在一些不确定因素，相关的法院实践还没有形成。《新法》还引起了与提交仲裁有关的一些新问题。

但显然，《新法》将促使仲裁机构的工作发生一些变化，并为新仲裁机构及其实践的发展奠定基础。

[1] The Federal Law “On arbitration (arbitral proceedings) in the Russian Federation” dated 29 December 2015 No. 382-FZ (the “Domestic Arbitration Act”), the Federal Law “On amendments to certain laws of the Russian Federation and repeal of article 6.1 (3) of the Federal Law “On Self-Regulating Organizations” in connection with the enactment of the Federal Law “On arbitration (arbitral proceedings) in the Russian Federation” dated 29 December 2015 No. 409-FZ and Law dated  07 July 1993 No. 5338-1 “On International Commercial Arbitration” (the “International Arbitration Act”).

 【英文原文】

Russia’sarbitration reform

what do the new laws mean for arbitration in Russia?

Valeria Romanova, Russia

Background

Significant amendments to Russia’s arbitration laws (the “New Laws”)1 came into force back in September 2016. The New Laws are intended to create modern and effective mechanisms for domestic and international arbitration in Russia, as well as to provide solutions to some of the perceived problems associated with using arbitration in Russia. Valeria Romanova from our Moscow office considers the changes and their impact.

Keychanges

Key changes brought about by the arbitration reform include:

· the introduction of a new regime for recognition of arbitral institutions established by various industry associations (those being non-commercial organisations) as “permanent arbitral institutions” (“PAIs”) – this process is subject to the forum meeting statutory conditions and receiving an approval from the Russian Government to perform these functions;

· express statutory recognition of arbitrability of a majority of disputes connected with the incorporation of a Russian legal entity, its management or participation in its share capital (“Corporate Disputes”);

·  Category 1 Corporate Disputes(e.g. disputes around “holding” (ownership) of shares and security interests over shares and their enforcement) may only be considered by arbitrations administered by a PAI;

· Category 2 Corporate Disputes(e.g. those relating to shareholders’ agreements, shareholders’ claims for reimbursement of losses caused to a company and invalidation of the respective transactions of the company, operation of a company’s management and controlling bodies and/or issuance of securities by a company) must be heard only by PAIs under special arbitration rules for Corporate Disputes. Category 2 disputes may be arbitrable only on the condition that the company being subject to the dispute, all its shareholders and other parties which act as claimants or defendants in a case must be parties to an arbitration agreement.

·  If Category 1 or Category 2 Corporate Disputes are referred to arbitration which does not meet the requirements mentioned above, this may affect the enforceability of arbitral awards in Russia, as well as provide a basis for the Russian state courts to accept jurisdiction and consider a dispute.

Types of arbitral institutions

The New Laws differentiate between several categories of arbitral institutions with varying status and rights as follows.

Russian PAIs

PAIs maybe set up subject to certain statutory conditions and following receipt of alicence from the Russian Government under the recommendation from the special Council.  An institution which does not obtain such approval will not be able to administer arbitrations as a PAI in Russia in relation to any Corporate Disputes (both Category 1 and Category 2), but may proceed acting as an ad hoc arbitral tribunal in Russia if that is permitted for the particulartype of dispute.

If the PAI wants to proceed with consideration of Category 2 Corporate Disputes, it needs to have a special set of corporate arbitration rules. Under the law such rules should include:

· notification of thedispute to the company and all shareholders of the company;

·   publication of information about the claim on the PAI’s website;

·   a right for each shareholder to join the claim.

The seat of arbitration can be chosen by the parties, except for arbitration of Category 2 Corporate Disputes for which the seat of arbitration should be in Russia.

Based on the above, currently the following Russian arbitral institutions meet Russian law requirements, including for consideration of Category 1 and Category 2 Corporate Disputes:

· ICAC – The International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation;

· MAC – Maritime Arbitration Commission at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation;

· RSPP – Arbitration Centre at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs;

· RIMA – Russian Arbitration Centre at the Institute of Modern Arbitration.

Foreign PAIs

A foreign arbitral institution may be approved to act as a PAI in Russia if it has a “widely recognised international reputation”, which would allow it to receive alicence from the Russian Government under the recommendation of the special Council.  If approved, the foreign PAI would be entitled to hear Category1 Corporate Disputes. In order to administer Category 2 Corporate Disputes, it should also issue specific corporate rules and be prepared to consider disputes with a seat in Russia.

Leading arbitral institutions, such as the LCIA, the ICC, the SCC, the SIAC and the HKIAC, have not confirmed publicly whether or not they intend to make an application. However, given that it is now two years since the New Laws entered into force and none have applied for a licence, the likelihood of them doing so seems low.

Currently,Russian law does not require that foreign arbitral institutions applying for a PAI licence should have a branch or representative office in Russia. However,there is a legislative proposal (not yet confirmed by the Russian Parliament) that a foreign PAI should also have an office located in Russia.

The PAI status is mostly required for consideration of Corporate Disputes. If an international arbitral institution does not obtain a PAI status in Russia then there is a risk that its awards relating to Corporate Disputes will not be recognised and enforced in Russia. Its awards for other types of disputes(such as financial transactions disputes etc.) should be largely unaffected and should be enforced based on the general principles of the 1958 New York Convention and subject to the usual statutory procedures and limitations relating to such enforcement.

By way of summary, the main arbitral institutions now available in Russia are:

ICAC

The ICACis a leading arbitral institution in Russia and Eastern Europe created in 1932 and based in Moscow. In 2016, the ICAC considered about 272 cases (compared with 303 cases considered by the LCIA and 199 cases considered by the ICC). In 2017, 34% of the parties were from Russia and CIS countries, about 33% from the EU and 17% from Asia. About 64% of cases related to supply disputes, 13% to services contracts disputes and 9% to construction contracts disputes. The ICAC has four different specific set of rules: for (1) international, (2) domestic,(3) corporate and (4) sport disputes. The ICAC also has separate lists of recommended arbitrators for each of these categories.

A reviewof the list of recommended arbitrators for international disputes indicates that about 20% of arbitrators are international scholars and legal practitioners from major international and domestic law firms. It should be noted that parties are not limited to choosing arbitrators from the list andmay nominate their own arbitrators.

The fees for a three-arbitrator panel to consider an international dispute where the amount claimed is USD 10 million may be around USD 91,500.

RSPP

RSPP is a non-political organisation for protection of interests of industry and entrepreneurs, established in 1991, with its own arbitral institution. It hasan office in Moscow which is also the seat for the majority of the disputes it considers.

RSPP has one set of rules for domestic, international and corporate disputes. It also provides a list of recommended arbitrators for various types of disputes but the parties are free to choose their own arbitrators, or arbitrators from the RSPP’s supplementary database. In the recommended list of arbitrators, around17% are international scholars and legal practitioners from major international and domestic law firms.

The feesfor a three-arbitrator panel to consider an international dispute where the amount claimed is USD 10 million may be around USD 54,700.

RIMA

RIMA was established after the New Arbitration Act entered into legal force, in Autumn 2016. It is a new arbitral institution focusing on developing arbitration in Russia both through its modern approach to disputes and by arranging various events for the arbitration community.

The head office is located in Moscow with representative offices in Vladivostok and Kaliningrad. To date, it has considered arbitrations seated in Moscow.

RIMA has one set of rules for the consideration of domestic, international and corporate disputes.

RIMA has one list of recommended arbitrators, 13% of which are international scholars and legal practitioners from major international and domestic law firms.As with other arbitral institutions, parties are free to choose arbitrators who are not on the list. RIMA is also available to assist parties by providing access to their arbitrators’ databases; around 17% of arbitrators in the international databases are representatives of major international law firms. 

The fees for a three-arbitrator panel to consider an international dispute where the amount claimed is USD 10 million may be around USD 76,520.Parties may choose instead to pay arbitrators’ fees in hourly rates (for international arbitration this is in the region of USD 450 per hour).

Although RIMA is a new arbitral institution, it states that it has already considered around 100 cases, around 80 disputes for governmental corporation RosAtom (RIMAhas a special branch for RosAtom disputes) and around 20 disputes for other companies (currently only domestic disputes, with arbitrators being ex-judges from the Supreme Arbitrazh Court).

Comment

The reforms have not yet been fully implemented, there are a number of uncertainties and related court practice is yet to develop. The New Laws also gave rise to a number of new issues in connection with submission to arbitration.

However,it is clear that the New Laws will provoke some changes in the work of arbitral institutions, as well as create a basis for development of the new arbitral institutions and their practices.

 [1] The Federal Law “On arbitration (arbitral proceedings) in the Russian Federation”dated 29 December 2015 No. 382-FZ (the “Domestic Arbitration Act”), the Federal Law “On amendments to certain laws of the Russian Federation and repeal of article 6.1 (3) of the Federal Law “On Self-Regulating Organizations” in connection with the enactment of the Federal Law “On arbitration (arbitral proceedings) in the Russian Federation” dated 29 December 2015 No. 409-FZ and Law dated  07 July 1993 No. 5338-1 “On International Commercial Arbitration” (the “International Arbitration Act”).

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