Letter from the Chair
Dear users and friends of CIAM:
It is an honor for me to be able to address you as Chair of the International Arbitration Center of Madrid (CIAM), which was born in 2020 as a result of the merger of the international activity of the Madrid Court of Arbitration, the Spanish Court of Arbitration and the Civil and Commercial Court, with the Madrid Bar Association as a strategic partner. All of these institutions, which lead the Spanish arbitration market, in a gesture of courage and common sense, took a step forward in order to speak with one voice to the world and, in particular, to Latin America, a natural ally.
Three years after the creation of CIAM, the work of the founding courts and the team of people who make them up has borne fruit and the Center has proven to be a global institution with the capacity to administer arbitrations in any seat in the world. Our center has administered more than twenty cases, reaching 140 million euros in aggregate amount in dispute since its creation.
CIAM’s success is undoubtedly due to its constant commitment to transparency, independence and efficiency. We are committed to inclusion, diversity and sustainability.
All these values guide CIAM’s internal regulations – Bylaws, Rules and internal operating guidelines and notes – and explain its organizational structure, in which the Best Practices, Arbitrator Appointment, Challenge and Preliminary Examination of Awards Commissions occupy a prominent place. All of them are made up of expert professionals of great prestige in the arbitration community, unpaid and independent, who help us to make CIAM an institution of reference.
Also, in recent years, CIAM’s Working Groups, which bring together professionals with experience in different areas of arbitration practice, have played a fundamental role. Their conclusions and proposals have enabled CIAM to incorporate the specialties of each sector and adapt to the needs of users, resulting in a better service, making CIAM a generalist Center but highly specialized in the strategic sectors of international arbitration.
At this point, we cannot forget the Ibero-American arbitration community which, from the very beginning, has strongly supported our Center and has helped us to make it known in every corner of that part of the world. The message is getting through and we are seeing more and more companies including the CIAM clause in their future disputes, regardless of the place of arbitration.
The outlook for CIAM is exciting: On the one hand, Madrid is experiencing a moment of great “effervescence” in the business and legal fields. The city has become a pole of attraction for multinationals of all kinds, investment funds and delegations of law firms of great weight and international prestige. On the other hand, Latin America has proven to be one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of arbitration and will continue to be so thanks to its advanced legislation in this area and its enormous economic potential.
Our short and medium term goal is to take advantage of the opportunities that are presenting themselves on both sides of the Atlantic, and to consolidate our position as the benchmark arbitration center in Spanish and Portuguese. We firmly believe that we can achieve this if we continue on the path we embarked on three years ago with the same commitment and energy. The effort is worth it.
With warmest regards,
