Promovendus: Mw. K. Auernig

Promotor: Prof.Dr. P. Oberhammer

Duur: 1/10/2013 - 30/9/2017

Promotie: Wien, 29/6/2018

Abstract:

The PhD thesis shall examine the concept, the potential challenges as well as the prevention of so-called \'surprise decisions\', meaning court judgments or arbitral awards that base their reasoning on a legal aspect that has neither been raised by any of the parties nor been discussed throughout the proceedings. The thesis is divided in two parts, the first one mainly dealing with the interpretation of existing provisions on the subject matter in the national codes of civil procedure as well as of a potential constitutional background. The second part is dedicated to the phenomenon of surprise decisions in international arbitration; special focus is thereby laid on the potential legal basis for a prohibition of surprise decisions as well as possibilities of challenging a surprising arbitral award.