Questions we expect
you to ask.
UNIONE™ is a new institution. Serious practitioners ask serious questions before committing their name and their practice to any institutional relationship. These are the questions we have been asked, answered directly.
UNIONE™ International Arbitration is a new international arbitration institution. We are in our founding phase. Our Rules v3.0 and DPC Standard v1.0 entered into force on 14 April 2026. We are building our founding bench of Fellows now, ahead of the formal institutional launch at UNBOUNDED™ Barcelona in August 2026.
We are not a legacy institution with decades of caseload. We are not claiming to be. We are building something new - an institution designed from the ground up with prevention, enforcement readiness, and a coherent four-stage framework that no existing institution offers.
If you are looking for an institution with a fifty-year track record and ten thousand administered cases, that is not us. If you are interested in being part of building something that has never been built before, we would like to hear from you.
We have not yet administered arbitration proceedings under Rules v3.0. The Rules entered into force in April 2026. Our first DPC certifications are in process. We are building the institutional infrastructure - the secretariat, the Fellows bench, the case management systems - in this founding period.
We are transparent about this because we believe the alternative - making claims about a track record we do not yet have - would be precisely the wrong way to build an institution whose credibility depends on honesty.
What we do have: published, versioned Rules (v3.0, 61 articles); a published DPC Standard (v1.0); an institutional framework that has been reviewed by practitioners across multiple jurisdictions; and a founding bench of Fellows who are building the institution alongside us.
The established institutions are excellent at what they do - administering arbitration proceedings. UNIONE™ is built around a different premise: that the most valuable institutional intervention is the one that prevents the arbitration from being necessary.
Three things UNIONE™ does that no established institution does:
- DPC - Dispute Prevention Certificate: Institutional certification of cross-border contracts before any dispute arises. A vetted Standing Neutral appointed from day one.
- ERR - Enforcement Readiness Review: A mandatory pre-award review of enforceability across all relevant jurisdictions, conducted before every final award is issued. No other institution does this.
- Four-stage integrated framework: Prevention (Stage 01), Structured Resolution (Stage 02), Arbitration (Stage 03), and Enforcement (Stage 04) - as a single, coherent system governed by one set of rules.
We are not positioning ourselves as a replacement for the ICC or SIAC. We are building the institutional infrastructure that addresses what they leave undone - the period before the dispute, and the enforcement of the award after it.
Questions about the legal entity should be directed to: contact@theunione.org
UNIONE™ governance operates through four bodies, each with a distinct mandate:
- Rules & Standards Panel: Responsible for maintaining, reviewing, and amending UNIONE™ Rules v3.0 and the DPC Standard.
- Appointments Panel: Responsible for all tribunal appointments and Standing Neutral appointments under the DPC framework.
- Ethics & Conduct Panel: Responsible for handling complaints against Fellows and for disciplinary proceedings.
- Institutional Council: Strategic oversight of the institution's development, rules amendments, and major institutional decisions.
Full governance documentation is available at theunione.org/governance. We publish our governance framework openly - not because we are required to, but because we believe institutional credibility depends on transparency.
Tribunal appointments under UNIONE™ Rules v3.0 are made by the Appointments Panel.
The Appointments Panel operates independently and is not influenced by any other entity. Its decisions are made on an objective and impartial basis. Fellows serving on the Panel recuse themselves from any appointment decision where a conflict of interest may arise.
No. UNIONE™ is an independent private institution. It has no affiliation with any government, state body, national bar association, or political entity. It does not receive state funding. It does not operate under any state mandate.
This independence is a design principle, not an administrative detail. An arbitration institution that is not genuinely independent of any state or interest group cannot credibly serve as a neutral forum for cross-border disputes. We take this seriously.
Fellowship is not membership. The distinction matters.
UNIONE™ Fellows (AF.UNIONE™, F.UNIONE™, and SF.UNIONE™) are:
- Eligible for Standing Neutral appointments on DPC-certified contracts
- Included in the tribunal appointment pool under Rules v3.0
- Bound by the UNIONE™ Code of Conduct for Fellows and the Unione Guidelines on Conflicts
- Listed in the publicly searchable Fellows Register at theunione.org
- Subject to the UNIONE™ Ethics & Conduct Panel for disciplinary proceedings
For developing dispute resolution professionals completing the Fellows Academy programme.
For active dispute resolution professionals across arbitration, mediation, and expert determination.
For senior practitioners with significant international arbitration experience.
Not automatically. The vetting process reviews your application against the criteria for the designation tier you apply for. Experience is a significant factor, but it is not the only one.
We recommend applying for the designation tier that accurately reflects your current practice. We will review the application honestly, and we will tell you why if we do not recommend the designation you applied for.
Yes. Fellows may resign at any time by written notice to the UNIONE™ Registrar. On resignation:
- Your designation is removed from the public Fellows Register within 5 business days
- Any active Standing Neutral appointments are transitioned according to the DPC transition protocol
- Any active arbitration appointments are governed by the relevant rules
The vetting process has four stages and takes no more than 21 days from receipt of a complete application.
Every applicant receives a written decision. If the Panel does not recommend the designation you applied for, we will explain why.
A complete application requires:
- Full name, jurisdiction(s) of practice, and contact details
- A brief professional biography
- Specialism designations sought and supporting practice description
- Arbitration and/or dispute resolution appointment history
- Disclosure of any known conflicts with UNIONE™
- Signed declaration of independence
Yes - the AF.UNIONE™ Associate Fellow pathway is designed for practitioners who are building their arbitration practice.
We would rather have a Fellowship of practitioners with the right values and the right practice orientation than one defined by prior appointment history at established institutions.
We will be honest with you: in the near term, appointment volume will be limited. We are a new institution. Our caseload is at inception.
If you are considering Fellowship primarily as an appointment generation mechanism in the short term, we would encourage you to be realistic about the current stage of the institution. If you are interested in building a founding relationship with an institution you believe in, we are building something worth being part of.
No. UNIONE™ Fellowship is not exclusive. Fellows may continue to accept appointments from any other institution, accept party appointments in ad hoc arbitrations, and maintain all existing institutional relationships.
A Standing Neutral appointment under the DPC framework involves quarterly review work, monitoring of contract milestones, and activation on Trigger Events.
The annual retainer covers the quarterly review work. Trigger Event activation fees apply separately and are set by the DPC tier. Full fee schedules are at theunione.org/fees.
The Fellows Register is publicly searchable. The following fields are published by default on induction:
- Full name and designation tier (AF / F / SF.UNIONE™)
- Specialism designations
- Jurisdiction(s) of practice and primary location
- Professional biography
You may request amendments to your public profile at any time by contacting the Registrar at registrar@theunione.org.
Not without your consent. The Fellows Register is a public institutional record - your listing in it is inherent to Fellowship. But use of your name, profile, or image in UNIONE™ marketing materials is subject to your separate consent.
At induction, you will be asked separately whether you consent to being featured in promotional content. Each of these is opt-in. Your Fellowship standing is not affected by any choice you make here.
UNIONE™ processes personal data in compliance with the UK GDPR.
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to access, correct, and in certain circumstances erase your personal data. To exercise any of these rights, contact data@theunione.org. Our full Privacy Policy is at theunione.org/privacy.
The Dispute Prevention Certificate (DPC) is the UNIONE™ product that generates Standing Neutral appointments for Fellows. Every DPC-certified contract has a Standing Neutral appointed from the Fellows bench.
Full details: theunione.org/dpc and DPC Standard v1.0
The Enforcement Readiness Review (ERR) is a mandatory pre-award institutional process conducted before every final UNIONE™ award is issued.
Full details at theunione.org/err-page
The founding cohort is the first group of Fellows formally inducted into the UNIONE™ Fellowship - at the Founding Fellows Induction Ceremony at UNBOUNDED™ Barcelona, 14–15 August 2026.
Being part of the founding cohort means your designation certificate records the founding event date, your register number is among the first, and you are eligible to sit on the institutional Council from its first meeting.
You do not need to attend UNBOUNDED™ to be part of the founding cohort - but the Founding Fellows Induction Ceremony is held at UNBOUNDED™ and is the formal moment of induction for those who can attend.
Confirm participation at UNBOUNDED™: unboundedglobal.com/register
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