Odd Arbitration Clause, Reflecting Disagreement, Held to Be Inexistent: Note on the Judgment of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court of 18 May 2020.

This note presents the judgment of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court of 18 May 2020. The Arbitral Tribunal declined jurisdiction and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court dismissed the challenge. While there was elaborate wording referring to international arbitration, one party did not want any international arbitration and the other party knew this. This was a factual finding of the Arbitral Tribunal and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court does not review facts, so it was bound by this factual statement about the parties' intent, which excluded the possibility to interpret the wording as an effective arbitration clause. While the circumstances of this case were peculiar, it serves as a useful reminder of the Swiss case-law on interpretation of arbitration clauses, of the powers of the Arbitral Tribunal and of the limits of the review by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]