Dispute resolution in Hamburg

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is an ideal location for national and international dispute resolution proceedings.

This website aims to provide information on the dispute resolution instruments, the local institutions and actors as well as the city's conditions for proceedings.

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Hamburg International Arbitration Center (HIAC)

Hamburg stands out from other German cities due to the cluster of several international arbitration institutions which are located here.

Hamburg's Chamber of Commerce is the center of arbitration in Hamburg. It founded one of the first courts of arbitration at the end of the 19th century: The "Schiedsgericht der Handelskammer Hamburg" was responsible for disputes arising out of commercial contracts.

Long tradition

Hamburg has a long tradition of settling commercial disputes.

With highly qualified courts, around twenty arbitration institutions and several mediation facilities, business people in this trading and service-oriented city have been settling domestic and international commercial disputes for centuries.

Strong business environment

Hamburg is Germany`s gate to the world.

More than 140,000 businesses are members of the Chamber of Commerce, which is the oldest German institution of its kind (founded 1665).

About 20,000 companies do business in foreign countries and about 3,500 subsidiaries of foreign parent companies round off the city’s foreign trade.