Personal scope of arbitration agreements in Serbian law

Abstract

This article deals with the personal scope of arbitration agreements in Serbian law and covers issues of terminology, applicable law, form of the arbitration agreement and determination of persons covered by the arbitration agreement. The judgments of the Supreme Court of Cassation in Prev 58/2016 and Prev 37/2018 are criticed. The article reaches two general conclusions. First, the departure from the UNCITRAL Model Law in Article 13 of the Serbian Law on Arbitration has led to unpredicted problems and an unacceptable interpretation of Article 13, according to which this provisions lays down a numerus clausus of the grounds on which an arbitration agreement can be held to be coveringnon-signatories. Second, Serbian courts have not shown that they are up to the task of establishing a favourable environment for the development of arbitration in Serbia.