Scottish Arbitration Centre moves up in the world

The Scottish Arbitration Centre has moved to new premises with improved facilities for those seeking to resolve their disputes through the Centre.

Situated at 125 Princes Street, Edinburgh, the rooms also offer "stunning" views of Edinburgh Castle.

At the formal openng of the new offices this week, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the move could mark "the beginning of a new chapter for arbitration". He continued: "I would like to see further use of alternatives to court wherever appropriated, such as Scottish arbitration, and for those involved to bring their disputes to the Centre. The growth of arbitration in Scotland could ease the burden on the Scottish courts and benefit professionals and the wider economy, especially if we can attract more international dispute resolution to Scotland. So I support the initiatives being taken by the Scottish Arbitration Centre to promote Scotland as a seat of international arbitration.”

He went on to congratulate Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive, and Brandon Malone, chairman of the Centre, and confirmed that the Scottish Government would continue to work with and support the Centre.

Thanking the Government and the Centre's other supporters over the three years since it was established, Mr Malone commented: “The Centre seeks to represent all strands of arbitration in Scotland, and it is that coordination of arbitration interests in the Centre that has allowed us to be so effective, influencing and informing Scottish Government policy on dispute resolution; changing UK Government policy to gain recognition for Scottish arbitration, and the wider Scottish legal scene, and ensuring that Scotland is represented effectively at the high tables of the arbitration world.

"Arbitration is of course a confidential process, so it is difficult to give facts and figures, but we know from anecdotal evidence that there has been a significant uplift in the use of arbitration in Scotland. We can also say with a degree of certainty that arbitration is increasingly being specified as the default dispute mechanism in literally hundreds of contracts. Scotland now also has a significant profile in the international arbitration world, and we are looking to capitalise upon that as we move on to the next phase of our development.

"Now with our new premises we have a fantastic facility for dispute resolution. If there is another arbitration centre in the world with a more spectacular backdrop than this one, I don’t know where it is.”