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Real estate

Construction

Construction is a historic field for arbitration. No special rule restricts it: contract for work, architect's or engineer's mandate, sale of materials or of real estate, everything is arbitrable between the parties.

What you can submit

  • Quality of the work and warranty for defects, price of the work, fees and their statement.
  • Deadlines, penalties for delay, claims for damages, termination.
  • Liability of the contractor, the agent, the architect, the engineer or the seller.

What remains reserved

  • Statutory lien of tradespeople and contractors: the provisional, urgent registration remains a matter for the state court; the merits of the secured claim remain subject to arbitration.
  • A mere reference to the SIA 118 standard is not sufficient to establish arbitration: an express clause is indispensable.
  • Non-party third parties: a subcontractor, a supplier or a third-party owner who has not accepted the clause cannot be bound by it.
  • Consumer building owner: preferably reserve for relationships between professionals or for a fully informed consumer. Form: art. 358 CPC is sufficient.

The clause

Ready to insert into your contracts. Copy it, or generate a personalised version.

Translation for information; for a Swiss-law contract the French version is recommended.

General clause (works contract, mandate or sale)

Article [X] - Arbitration 1. Any dispute, difference or claim arising out of or in connection with this contract, in particular as to its conclusion, validity, interpretation, performance, defects, amendment or termination, shall be finally settled by arbitration through the CONCORDA platform (www.concorda.ch), to the exclusion of the ordinary state courts and of the conciliation procedure. 2. The following are covered in particular: the quality of the work and the warranty for defects, the price of the work, the fees and their statement of account, the deadlines, the penalties for delay, claims for damages, termination, as well as the liability of the contractor, the agent, the architect, the engineer or the seller. 3. The arbitration is conducted in accordance with the CONCORDA Arbitration Rules in force at the time proceedings are commenced, which form an integral part of this clause. The parties expressly exclude the application of Chapter 12 of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA), in accordance with article 176 paragraph 2 thereof, and submit the proceedings exclusively to Swiss domestic arbitration (art. 353 et seq. CPC). The arbitral tribunal is composed of a sole arbitrator. The seat of the arbitration is at Monthey. The language of the proceedings is French. The award is final and constitutes an enforceable title (art. 387 CPC), the remedies before the Federal Supreme Court remaining reserved (art. 389 et seq. CPC). 4. The jurisdiction of the state court is reserved for urgent interim measures, in particular the provisional entry of a statutory mortgage of tradespeople and contractors (art. 837 et seq. CC), the constitution of the arbitral tribunal not excluding that jurisdiction. The merits of the secured claim remain subject to arbitration. There also remain reserved disputes involving third parties not bound by this clause and acts reserved to the state authorities. 5. The parties agree that, at the request of a party, the arbitral tribunal may provide in its award that the party which fails to comply within the fixed time limit shall pay the other party a penalty per period of delay, the amount of which the arbitral tribunal fixes on an equitable basis according to the circumstances, without it being able to exceed a rate of 10 % of the amount in dispute per year, calculated pro rata temporis. This penalty is due irrespective of any loss (art. 161 CO); art. 163 para. 2 and 3 CO remains reserved.
See the other variants (2)

Short variant

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract shall be finally settled by arbitration, in accordance with the CONCORDA Arbitration Rules, by a sole arbitrator, seat at Monthey, French language, to the exclusion of the state courts and of the conciliation procedure. The jurisdiction of the state court remains reserved for urgent interim measures, in particular the provisional entry of a statutory mortgage.

Reference via the SIA standard (express clause to be added)

In addition to SIA Standard 118, the parties expressly agree that any dispute relating to this contract shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the CONCORDA Arbitration Rules, to the exclusion of the state courts.
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