It is a foundation established under the law of the Netherlands. The head office of SGOA is located in Rijswijk . The general purpose of SGOA is mentioned at a separate page. A minitrial is a individualised non-binding procedure based on a more or less formalised negotiation method. The emphasis is on fact finding and the analysis of common versus opposed interests.
Arbitration is a more formalised and also a more commonly known procedure than a minitrial.
Sometimes, when a dispute arises, parties are prepared to follow the advice of an independent expert. This is why SGOA offers the possibility to ask for a binding expert's advice. Sometimes parties in more complex projects want their relationship and the performance of their mutual obligations being monitored by an independent expert. Co-operation monitoring is a way to prevent conflicts rather than a procedure to solve them a posteriori. Finally SGOA acts also as an intermediary for parties and courts when they are looking for independent experts in IT disputes.