The best arbitration is the arbitration which does not take place because it can be avoided by prior amicable settlement.

The CEAC Hamburg Arbitration Rules therefore provide for the possibility of conciliation or mediation prior to the initiation of arbitration proceedings or at a very early stage of the proceedings as a medium of amicable settlement of a dispute.

Article 1 para 3 of the CEAC Hamburg Arbitration Rules provides for the possibility for either party to request the consent of the other party to carry out conciliation proceedings under the rules of the Beijing-Hamburg Conciliation Centre, or any other kind of conciliation or mediation proceeding, prior to the commencement of CEAC arbitration or within 21 days after receipt of the notice of arbitration by Respondent. CEAC is explicitly open to any kind of mediation proceedings the parties desire to carry out.

If the Parties agree to such means of settlement, the arbitration proceedings will be interrupted for the duration of the mediation or conciliation up to three months or longer if the parties agree to a longer interruption.