Delos is an independent arbitral institution. It was established in 2014 in response to business demand, globally, for greater predictability, efficiency and effectiveness of arbitration.

This followed extensive research and discussions in 2012-2013. Key user feedback was that greater time and cost efficiency would facilitate the assessment of risks pre-action and therefore improve settlement prospects; and improved predictability would make it easier for businesses to project their cash flow. For ongoing commercial relationships, higher efficiency would also mean less time spent on a potentially acrimonious dispute and, therefore, lessen the harm it could cause to the relationship. For smaller value contracts, the efficiency gains would also make arbitration more accessible, and thus give the claiming party more leverage to achieve a settlement. Irrespective of the size of the contract or deal, the additional challenge is that succeeding in an arbitration does not necessarily resolve the dispute, if the award debtor does not comply with the award. Altogether, designing a new arbitration system that could respond to these needs would reduce the cost of doing business (reduced friction or transactional costs). These findings were consistent with those of the international arbitration surveys of Queen Mary University of London (see, e.g., 2006 and, again more recently, 2018), which have highlighted time and cost as being among the worst characteristics of arbitration.

Hence, Delos. The institution provides an award-winning, innovative, systematic solution, starting from the contract-making stage through to the issuing of the final award in case of arbitration, and including a post-award compliance reinforcement mechanism (see here and here). Delos is available universally, for all types of arbitrable disputes, regardless of the governing law or location of the parties or the dispute, and combines quality and flexibility with time and cost efficiency.

Through Delos, users gain access to:

• model clauses in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, to facilitate the drafting of arbitration clauses and governing law clauses;
• guidance on the choice of a safe seat for their arbitration clause;
• the registration of their contracts, in case they get misplaced, and reduced arbitration costs in the event of arbitration;
• model documents in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish to guide the parties in a user-friendly manner through the initial steps of an arbitration;
• Rules of Arbitration in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish to enable a fair and expeditious proceeding at proportionate cost;
• a pool of knowledgeable arbitrators, experienced to conduct proceedings proactively and to focus promptly on the core issues in dispute (some of these arbitrators are also registered in our open access arbitrator database); and
• a responsive and dynamic, independent and impartial, institution overseeing the process – Delos.

Delos is advised by senior international arbitration practitioners. It is actively engaged in the international arbitration community (see, for example, our know-how section, our events, and Delos-Y) and it is committed to providing in-house, corporate and arbitration practitioners with practical, effective insights (such as the Delos Guide to Arbitration Places, known as the 'GAP', or our Tech Channel). Delos also works closely with the Paris Arbitration Centre by Delos, which provides a one-stop solution for all arbitration hearing services.