The Business Conciliation and Arbitration Center of Colombia’s Corporate Oversight announced its new service of social arbitration, an alternative dispute resolution mechanism provided free of charge by the arbitrators and by Center for all disputes not exceeding USD 10,800.
The social arbitration rules offer an expedited procedure providing for streamlined arbitration with reduced fees. For instance, the arbitrator will have a 30-day period from the first hearing to render the award, and the decision can be notified to the parties by email.
In Colombia, social arbitration was introduced together with the Arbitration Statute of 2012. This ADR aims to facilitate and guarantee access to justice in an agile and efficient manner to the most disadvantaged and financially needy sectors of the population. Social arbitration seeks to ensure that low-income parties can access a single arbitrator to resolve disputes free of charge, provided the dispute does not exceed USD 10,800.
Social Arbitration Rules in Spanish.
