OIMAP standard clause

A standard clause meets the need for legal certainty. Drafted by the tribunal's staff, approved by its council and applied for more than ten years, it limits the risks of ambiguity, contradiction or inapplicability. Arbitrators understand it at first reading.

It fits into all types of contract and has been tested in many legal systems. Local adaptations are flagged and explained.

The clause first designates the applicable tribunal and rules, then specifies the number of arbitrators, the seat and the language, and finally the law applicable to the merits. These four elements are enough to make the clause workable.

Variants make it possible to add prior mediation, the expedited procedure or a specific rule for authenticity disputes.

OIMAP recommends the clause in its good-practice guides, mentions it in the certification conditions and offers it in its model contracts in the Market section. Approved houses undertake to offer it to the parties.

This harmonisation promotes predictability in the market: a dispute between parties from different countries is settled faster when the clause is the same everywhere.

Works certified by OIMAP often move between countries. Inserting the clause in the contracts that concern them creates consistency between authentication and dispute settlement: the tribunal may draw on the certification file, with the parties' agreement.

Certificate holders receive the standard clause with their file. It also appears in the Registry, for works whose owner so wishes.