CIS™

Contract Intelligence Score™

The first institutional
enforceability benchmark.

CIS™ is the UNIONE™ score that quantifies how likely a cross-border contract's dispute resolution provisions are to produce an enforceable award. Not a prediction — a structured audit against six published criteria.

Scored from 0 to 100. Issued by UNIONE™. Valid for 12 months. Carries institutional weight in negotiations, lender due diligence, and dispute prevention planning.

Request a CIS™ Assessment → View Six Criteria

0–100

UNIONE™ Contract Intelligence Score

0–39

High Risk

40–59

Moderate Risk

60–79

Low Risk

80–100

CIS Certified™

What CIS Measures

Six criteria. Six checkpoints. One score.

The CIS™ assessment reviews a cross-border contract's dispute resolution provisions against the UNIONE™ DPC Standard v1.0 six-checkpoint framework. Each criterion is weighted. The final score is the weighted average.

No black box. Every CIS™ assessment includes a full score breakdown — which criteria passed, which failed, and what specific changes would increase the score.

What CIS™ Is Not

CIS™ is not a legal opinion. It is not a guarantee of enforceability. It is not a prediction of what any particular court or arbitral tribunal will decide. It is an institutional audit against a published standard.

A high CIS™ score does not mean "this clause will be enforced." It means "this clause has been audited against the DPC Standard and meets all six criteria that UNIONE™ has identified as markers of enforceability." A low score means "it does not meet one or more criteria, and here is what would need to change."

The Six CIS™ Criteria

Derived from DPC Standard v1.0

Each criterion is scored pass/fail. The final CIS™ score is the weighted average of all six.

Clause Adequacy

The dispute resolution clause is clear, complete, and internally consistent. Contains an identifiable mechanism, seat, governing law, and coherent escalation pathway.

Weight: 25%

Jurisdiction Awareness

The clause demonstrates active consideration of enforcement jurisdiction — not a default clause applied uniformly regardless of counterparty location or asset situs.

Weight: 20%

Escalation Architecture

The escalation pathway — from written notice through structured resolution to arbitration — is coherent and contains no procedural gaps or jurisdictional inconsistencies.

Weight: 15%

Governing Law & Seat

The governing law of the contract and the seat of arbitration are clearly stated, compatible, and do not create procedural conflicts that could delay or prevent enforcement.

Weight: 15%

Trigger Precision

Payment milestones, force majeure scope, and escalation triggers are precisely defined — not vague or subject to competing interpretations.

Weight: 15%

New York Convention Compatibility

The clause does not contain provisions that would risk refusal of enforcement under the New York Convention (e.g., unclear arbitral institution, incompatible procedural rules, non-arbitrable subject matter).

Weight: 10%

Who Uses CIS™

Four audiences. One score.

CIS™ was designed for specific use cases across the cross-border contracting lifecycle. Each audience uses the score differently — but all four rely on the same institutional audit.

🏛️ Parties negotiating cross-border contracts

"Before we sign, let's get a CIS™ score on the dispute clause. If it scores below 60, we need to renegotiate."

🏦 Lenders and project finance teams

"Your loan documents include a dispute clause. We require a CIS™ score of at least 60 before financial close."

⚖️ Law firms advising on dispute risk

"We recommend you commission a CIS™ assessment on your standard supply agreement. The score will tell you where your exposure is."

📋 Insurers and W&I underwriters

"The warranty & indemnity policy excludes dispute clauses with a CIS™ score below 50 unless specifically endorsed."

The Badge

CIS Certified™ — 80 and above.

Contracts that score 80 or above receive the CIS Certified™ mark — an institutional badge that can be displayed on the contract itself, in due diligence materials, and in lender presentations.

The badge is not legal advice. It is UNIONE™'s institutional statement that this contract's dispute resolution provisions have been audited against the DPC Standard and meet all six criteria at a level of 80% or higher.

CIS

CERTIFIED™

CIS Certified™ 87

UNIONE™ Contract Intelligence Score

This contract's dispute resolution provisions have been audited against the UNIONE™ DPC Standard v1.0 and meet all six criteria. Valid to Dec 2026. Ref: CIS-2026-0042

Process & Timeline

From request to score in 14 days.

The CIS™ assessment process is designed for speed without sacrificing rigour. UNIONE™ assigns a qualified assessor — always a UNIONE™ Fellow — who reviews the contract against the six criteria.

Submit contract to cis@theunione.org with CIS™ request form

UNIONE™ confirms scope and fee within 48 hours

Assessment completed within 14 calendar days

CIS™ score report issued — includes breakdown and remediation guidance

If score ≥80, CIS Certified™ badge and certificate issued

Request a CIS™ Assessment

Know your score before
the dispute starts.

Submit a contract for CIS™ assessment. UNIONE™ will respond within 48 hours with scope confirmation, fee, and timeline. All submissions treated confidentially.

Single Contract

USD 750

Bulk (5+ contracts)

USD 500/ea

CIS Certified™

Included

Request CIS™ Assessment · cis@theunione.org →

14-day turnaround · Full score breakdown · Remediation guidance included

The first institutionalenforceability benchmark.

The first institutional
enforceability benchmark.