Dear DIS Members,
One of the major goals of our presidency was to improve the relation with the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and put it on a new footing. We are pleased that this goal now has been achieved.
The DIS in its current form is the result of a merger of the German Arbitration Committee (DAS) and the German Institute of Arbitration (DIS) in 1992. The DAS was founded in 1920 by the leading trade associations as a working committee for the promotion of arbitration and the conduct of arbitration proceedings in Berlin and was continued from 1956 under the umbrella of the former Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHT). The DIHK and the Chambers of Industry and Commerce contributed significantly to the creation of the DIS in its current form and to its development with substantial funding contributions and are still valued members today.
In response to the amendment to the Chambers of Industry and Commerce Act (IHKG) of 2021, the DIHK decided at the beginning of 2023 to establish the Court of Arbitration mentioned in Section 10a(4) IHKG, which will be active in the broad field of out-of-court dispute resolution.
The DIS and the DIHK will therefore go their separate ways in the administration of arbitration proceedings in future. Against this background, the DIS Board and the DIHK have jointly proposed to the DIS General Assembly on 14 September 2023 to end the special role of the DIHK within the DIS at the level of the articles of association by eliminating the election of board members upon the proposal of the DIHK, as previously provided for in the articles of association. The resolution passed unanimously with no abstentions or votes against and was entered in the register of associations.
At the same time, the DIS and the DIHK will continue their close and trusting cooperation to promote arbitration and Germany as a centre of arbitration. The DIS will also continue to trustfully cooperate with the Chambers of Industry and Commerce to the benefit of the companies and to carry on existing partnerships in the administration of arbitral proceedings. We appreciate that many Chambers of Industry and Commerce are our members and look forward to reviving mutual relations. As part of this undertaking, the DIS General Assembly has also amended the articles of association to facilitate the effective exercise of the membership rights of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce and other corporate members.
Stefan Kröll, Rouven Bodenheimer and Reinmar Wolff