Since its creation, the Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAC) has played a key role in promoting arbitration as a dispute resolution method, developing the arbitration culture in Portugal and fostering the efficient administration of proceedings.
In the future, arbitration users will increasingly demand transparency, diversity, efficiency as well as professionalism from all participants. The CAC will excel whenever and wherever it remains attentive to the needs of its users (small, medium and large), implementing international best practices and exercising quality control over all stages of the process (including the arbitration award).
Technology and artificial intelligence promise to continue transforming arbitration, and the watchword will be "adaptation". The CAC, as the main arbitration institution in Portugal, should lead the digital transformation in arbitration, using technologies that allow for greater efficiency in the administration of proceedings.
With the growing injection of foreign capital in Portugal and in Portuguese-speaking countries, arbitration is emerging as the best alternative for the resolution of disputes affecting the interests of international trade. Thanks to pro-arbitration case law, a modern arbitration law, the international exposure of Portuguese lawyers, a privileged and (for the time being) less expensive location than others, Portugal may position itself as a major competitor to traditional arbitration seats such as Paris or London. The CAC will play a leading role in this context, ensuring swift and fair arbitration proceedings that meet users' real needs.
