Informal dispute assessment and anticipatory dispute resolution are the same. In order to attract more focus on these options, the Arbitration Board decided in 2015 to rename the rules and update their content. The new rules on informal dispute assessment have been in force since 1 October 2015. The Board recommends that the new rules be applied to all cases brought before the Arbitration Board after 1 October 2015, even if the parties entered into their agreement at an earlier date.
The purpose of the rules on informal dispute assessment is to provide an alternative to an actual arbitration case. By means of very simple procedures, these rules enable the parties to solve a dispute quickly, thus making it possible for their collaboration to continue. The parties have to agree on adopting such procedures.
If requested to do so, the Arbitration Board appoints an assessor to present an opinion about technical, financial, legal or administrative matters. The assessor may be a technical assessor or a person with a background in law. The assessor will not mediate, but will present his or her own assessment of the matters in question.
The assessor will only present a verbal opinion at a meeting with the parties. The opinion is not legally binding and will have no legal significance in any subsequent arbitral case.
The assessor’s fee will be based on time spent and determined by the Arbitration Board. The board will also determine the distribution of legal costs between the parties on the basis of the assessor’s recommendation. The parties are jointly and severally liable for the total costs.