SCC Express
Drafting contracts is an important part of business relationships, and choosing the right dispute resolution method in the contract is both strategically and financially smart. In some situations, it is also particularly important to be able to predict both cost and time. That's why we offer SCC Express Dispute Assessment, a dispute resolution service where a legal expert assesses the dispute within three weeks at a fixed price.
The aim of the SCC is to promote trade between companies. We do this by helping companies spend as little time as possible on dispute resolution, allowing them to spend more time on their core business.
SCC Express Dispute Assessment – SCC Express – is a service primarily aimed at parties with an ongoing contract. The priority is on the business relationship and the parties have a legal dispute they want to resolve quickly and at a fixed price. The service can also be used by parties who want to test their legal position before a settlement discussion or a decision to initiate legal proceedings through arbitration or in court.
What is SCC Express?
SCC Express Dispute Assessment is a consent-based and confidential dispute resolution process. The contracting parties may jointly decide to choose SCC Express as the dispute resolution method, either when the contract is written or when the dispute arises. The SCC appoints a neutral legal expert* to give their opinion on the merits of the case within three weeks. The cost is EUR 29,000.
This assessment is neither enforceable nor binding on the parties, unless they have specifically agreed to this. The main purpose of the service is to help the parties move forward in their contractual relationship.
The process for dispute resolution services has been set out in the SCC Rules for Express Dispute Assessment.
When is an SCC Express Dispute Assessment appropriate?
When two contracting parties:
- have a good ongoing business relationship.
- value being able to work quickly on a joint project.
- are looking for a timely and cost-effective dispute resolution process.
- are likely to accept the assessment without an enforceable judgment.
- want to get an idea of how an issue in dispute would be assessed in a full-scale arbitration.
How dispute resolution works
One of the disputing parties contacts the SCC and:
- pays the administration fee of EUR 4,000
- informs us of the identity of the disputing parties
- describes the dispute and the issue(s) to be assessed.
Once the SCC has received the request, we will contact the other party to give them the opportunity to respond and give their consent to the process (if this has not already been confirmed in the request).
Once the other party's consent is confirmed, the remaining fee of EUR 25,000 must be paid, if it has not already been paid in connection with the request.
The SCC will then appoint a neutral legal expert within 48 hours and refer the case to them.
The neutral legal expert will guide the parties through the dispute resolution process. In order to communicate securely and confidentially and to share submissions and other documents easily, the parties have access to the digital case management tool SCC Platform.
The neutral legal expert or either party can raise the question of whether the outcome of their SCC Express Dispute Assessment should be made binding on the parties.
After three weeks, the legal expert delivers a written assessment to the parties, including a summary of the expert's conclusions on the issue in dispute.
*the neutral legal expert is referred to as "the Neutral" in the SCC Rules for Express Dispute Assessment.