Austrian Supreme Court rules on the application of the consumer protection clause in shareholder disputes

23. April 2014


Since the Aus­tri­an Ar­bi­tra­ti­on Act 2006 en­te­red into force, it has been wi­de­ly dis­pu­ted bet­ween legal scholars, whe­ther and to what ex­tent the con­su­mer pro­tec­tion clau­se of the Act – which se­vere­ly restricts the pos­si­bi­li­ty of con­clu­ding ar­bi­tra­ti­on agree­ments with con­su­mers – also ap­p­lies in dis­pu­tes bet­ween share­hol­ders when the ar­bi­tra­ti­on agree­ment is in­cor­po­ra­ted in the sta­tu­tes of as­so­cia­ti­on.

Since the Austrian Arbitration Act 2006 entered into force, it has been widely disputed between legal scholars, whether and to what extent the consumer protection clause of the Act – which severely restricts the possibility of concluding arbitration agreements with consumers – also applies in disputes between shareholders when the arbitration agreement is incorporated in the statutes of association.

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