The International Court of Arbitration is the world's

leading body for the resolution of international

disputes

The universal scope of the

International Court of Arbitration,
commonly known as "the Court", is
evidenced by the fact that each year,
numerous parties, arbitrators and
lawyers from countries of every
economic, political and social system
are present in ICC arbitrations.
The Rules of Arbitration and the Rules
for Mediation are contained in
publication number 865 which is
available upon request from the Court.
The Rules are also available at
www.iccarbitration.org and
www.iccadr.org.
The Court members diverse
professional, legal and cultural
backgrounds brings a richness to the
Courts daily work and decision
making processes.
The Court is one of the world's most
experienced and renowned
international arbitration institutions.
Working closely with its Secretariat,
the Courts primary role is to
administer ICC Arbitrations. It
performs the functions entrusted to it
under the ICC Rules of Arbitration and
continually strives to assist parties and
arbitrators to overcome any
procedural obstacles that arise.
In performing its functions, the Court
is mindful of its duty to make every
effort to ensure that awards are
enforceable at law.

Functions of the ICC

International Court of
Arbitration

Working closely with its Secretariat, the Courts

primary role is to administer ICC Arbitrations.

The Court performs the functions

entrusted to it under the ICC Rules of
Arbitration and continually strives to
assist parties and arbitrators to
overcome any procedural obstacles that
arise. In performing its functions, the
Court is mindful of its duty to make
every effort to ensure that awards are
enforceable at law.
Importantly, the Court is not a court in
the judicial sense of the term. It does
not itself resolve disputes or decide who
wins or who loses an arbitration. It does
not award damages or even costs.
Those are all functions reserved for
independent arbitral tribunals appointed
in accordance with the Rules.
The Court's specific functions under the
Rules include:
Fixing the place of arbitration
Assessing whether there is a
prima facie ICC Arbitration
agreement
Taking certain necessary
decisions in complex multi-party or
multi-contract arbitrations
Confirming, appointing and
replacing arbitrators
Deciding on any challenges filed
against arbitrators

Monitoring the arbitral process

from the filing of the request for
arbitration to the notification of the
final award to ensure that it
proceeds in accordance with the
Rules and with the required
commitment to diligence and
efficiency
Scrutinizing and approving all
arbitral awards, in the interests of
improving their quality and
enforceability
Setting, managing and, if
necessary, adjusting costs of the
arbitration, including the ICC
administrative expenses and the
arbitrators fees and expenses
Overseeing emergency
arbitrator proceedings
The Courts Secretariat comprises a permanent staff
of more than 80 lawyers and support personnel.

Headed by a Secretary General, it

assists the Court in performing its
functions as well as performing
numerous functions of its own in
accordance with the Rules and the
Courts practices.
The Secretariat is divided into eight
case-management teams, each
dealing principally with cases relating
to certain regions or language groups.
Seven of the teams are based in Paris,
the eighth in Hong Kong and the ninth
in New York. Each team is led by a
Counsel, and comprises two or three
deputy counsel plus administrative
assistants.
In deciding which team to allocate a
new arbitration to, the Secretary
General considers such factors as the
parties' nationalities, the place of
arbitration, the languages and laws
involved, and any other relevant
factors. Based on that assessment, the
Secretary General allocates the case
to the most suitable team. The
assigned team then becomes the
principal point of contact for all
players involved in the arbitration. The
team assists the parties, counsel and
arbitrators in applying the Rules and
briefs the Court on its decisions.
ICC arbitration and ADR marketing
activities are supported by marketing
officers covering North America, Asia
and the Pacific, Eastern
Mediterranean, the Middle East and
Africa, Latin America and the United
Kingdom.

What is mediation? Conciliation?

Neutral evaluation? Mini-trial?
A description of the various dispute
resolution techniques possible under
the ADR Rules is available in the
Guide to ICC ADR under Article 5.
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What is the difference between ICC
ADR and ICC Arbitration?
Both ICC ADR and ICC Arbitration are
administered procedures, which
require the parties to file a Request
with either the ICC International
Centre for ADR (Centre) (for ADR) or
with the ICC International Court of
Arbitration (Court) (for arbitration).
ADR (amicable dispute resolution)
under the ICC ADR Rules (ADR Rules)
aims to facilitate a settlement with the
assistance of an independent neutral,
most frequently through mediation.
However, the ADR Rules also
encompass other amicable dispute
resolution techniques, for example
conciliation, neutral evaluation and a
variety of combinations of these and
other techniques.
Arbitration under the ICC Rules of
Arbitration is a formal procedure
leading to a binding decision from a
neutral arbitral tribunal, susceptible to
enforcement pursuant to both
domestic arbitration laws and
international treaties such as the New
York Convention.
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Where can the meetings in ICC ADR
take place?
ICC ADR meetings can take place
anywhere around the world. The
proceedings will be administered by
the Centre at ICC headquarters in
Paris, France. However, this does not
oblige parties in any way to hold their
ADR meetings in Paris. In fact, the
majority of proceedings filed under the
ICC ADR Rules provide for meetings
that do not take place in Paris.
Parties may either provide for the
place of the meetings in their contract
or may subsequently agree on the
place of the meetings, as the case
may be.
Pursuant to Article 5(4) of the ADR
Rules, where the parties fail to agree
on the place of the meetings, the
Neutral shall determine the place of
any meetings to be held.
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How much does ICC ADR cost?
In order to file a Request for an ADR
proceeding with the Centre, the
Requesting Party or Parties must
submit the registration fee in the
amount of US$ 1 500 with the Request
(
see payment instructions here)
pursuant to Articles 2(A)(1)(e) and 2(B)
(1)(c).
Subsequently, the parties will be
asked to pay a deposit to cover the
costs of the proceeding, including the
Neutrals fees and expenses as well as
the Centres administrative expenses.
As regards the Centres administrative
expenses, they shall be fixed at ICCs
discretion depending on the tasks
carried out by ICC, but shall not
exceed the maximum sum of US$ 10
000, pursuant to the current Appendix
I to the ADR Rules.
All costs of the proceeding shall be
borne by the parties in equal shares
pursuant to Article 4(5) of the ADR
Rules.
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Does ICC have a list of Neutrals?
ICC does not have a fixed list of
Neutrals. Rather, where the Neutral
has not been jointly designated by all
of the parties, ICC shall conduct an
individual and global search pursuant
to Article 3 of the ADR Rules to identify
a Neutral having the qualifications
which have been agreed upon by all of
the parties and who is independent of
the parties.
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Can ICC provide legal advice?
No, ICC cannot provide any legal
advice, including advice as to how to
draft a dispute resolution clause or
what is the best dispute resolution
technique to choose.
However, ICC can provide parties with
information on the use of the various
dispute resolution mechanisms and
application of the various ICC Rules
depending on their circumstances.
Parties wishing to discuss a question
with the members of the ICC
International Centre for ADR, are
invited to contact it by email or
telephone at: adr@iccwbo.org or
+33 (0)1 49 53 30 52
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What type of dispute resolution
mechanism should I choose?
ICC cannot advise parties wishing to
use one of ICCs dispute resolution
services as to which is the best
mechanism for their case.
However, the Centre would be pleased
to provide you with information on the
various aspects and application of the
ADR Rules and their combination with
ICC Arbitration, Expertise or other
dispute resolution procedures.
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Does ICC provide mediation
training?
Currently, ICC does not train or certify
mediators but organizes various other
events on ADR and dispute resolution.
To be informed of recent events, we
invite you to visit
All Events page.
Please note that ICC organizes and
hosts an annual International
Mediation Conference Series aimed at
providing companies and business
users with practical information on
business-wise dispute management,
negotiating and drafting dispute
resolution clauses, mediation strategy
and preparation and ethical issues. For
more information, please visit the
Conference page.
Further, ICC also organizes the annual
International Commercial Mediation
Competition, which is open to law and
businesses schools worldwide. The
Competition is ICCs biggest
educational event and the only
international mediation moot
worldwide. For more information,
please visit the Competition page.
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What is the duration of an ICC ADR
proceeding?
The duration of an ICC ADR proceeding
depends on the particular
circumstances of the matter and can
range from just a few days to a couple
of months, depending on the
specificities of the case and the
parties interests.
However, on average an ICC ADR
proceeding lasts about four months
from the date of the Request until the
settlement of the dispute or
termination of the proceeding.
Usually, parties spent most of the time
getting ready for the ADR and
agreeing on certain procedural
matters, such as thesettlement
technique, place and language of the
proceeding and collecting the deposit
for costs. The parties meetings with
the Neutral usually last 1 2 days.
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What rules apply if our clause
refers to the 1988 ICC Rules of
Conciliation and Arbitration?
The 1988 ICC Rules of Conciliation and
Arbitration have since been replaced
by the 2001 ICC ADR Rules and the
2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration.
Accordingly, should the parties seek to
conduct settlement proceedings
administered by ICC, the ADR Rules
will apply.
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Does the ADR Secretariat
participate in the ICC ADR
proceeding?
The ADR Secretariats role is limited to
administering the proceeding,
including supervising the conduct of
the proceeding in accordance with the
ADR Rules. However, as a general rule,
the staff of the ADR Secretariat does
not attend any of the meetings or
participate in any of the discussions
between the parties and the Neutral
during the course of the proceeding.
Whether the parties wish to
additionally submit copies of their
exchanged documents with the
Neutral to the ADR Secretariat is in
their discretion.
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Can an expert participate in an ICC
ADR proceeding?
Under the ADR Rules, the parties or
the Neutral may appoint one or more
experts to render a written report,
testify, or otherwise advise the parties
or the Neutral during the course of the
ADR proceeding. However, the
appointment of an expert by the
Neutral is subject to the agreement of
all of the parties.
Under the ICC Rules for Expertise,
the ICC International Centre for
Expertise may make a nonbinding
proposal or binding appointment of
experts.
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How to combine arbitration and
ADR?
Before an arbitration proceeding
begins, parties may attempt to settle
all or part of their dispute by
commencing an ADR proceeding.
Parties may do so either by 1) drafting
a multi-tiered dispute resolution
clause that provides for an ADR
proceeding (possibly within a certain
limited amount of time) before
commencing any arbitration
proceeding (link to the suggested
ADR clauses) or by2) entering into a
subsequent agreement to participate
in an ADR proceeding before
commencing any arbitration
proceeding, pursuant to Article 2B of
the ADR Rules
Additionally, where parties have
commenced an arbitration proceeding,
they may wish to settle all or part of
their dispute by either staying the
arbitration proceeding pending
settlement discussions or by engaging
in parallel ADR and arbitration
proceedings.
When parties combine ADR and
arbitration proceedings, they must
consider carefully whether they wish
for the same person to act as Neutral
an Arbitrator or for separate people, in
light of the possible disclosure of
confidential information during
settlement proceedings and the
enforceability of any arbitral award.
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How are Neutrals remunerated?
Pursuant to Article 4 of the ADR Rules
and Appendix C thereto, the fees of
the Neutral shall be calculated on the
basis of the time reasonably spent by
the Neutral in the ADR proceeding, at
an hourly rate fixed for such
proceeding by ICC in consultation with
the Neutral and the parties.
The Neutrals reasonable expenses
shall be fixed by ICC and reimbursed
accordingly.
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What are the advantages of ICC

arbitration over ad hoc arbitration?
In an institutional arbitration, an
arbitral institution like the ICC
International Court of Arbitration
organizes and provides services in
connection with arbitration
proceedings, while in an ad hoc
arbitration, the arbitrators and the
parties administer the proceedings
themselves. Details on institutional
and ad hoc arbitration are
available here.
10 good reaons to choose ICC
Arbitration are listed here.
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What are the key aspects of ICC
arbitration and guidance regarding
the impact of the 2012 Rules
ICC International Court of
 Arbitration (Court)
The Court is an administrative body
which ensures that ICC arbitrations are
conducted in accordance with the
Rules. It does not itself resolve
disputes (Article 1(2)).
The Court is the only body authorized
to administer arbitrations under the
Rules, including the scrutiny and
approval of all awards rendered in
accordance with the Rules (Article
1(2)).
The Court is assisted day-to-day by its
Secretariat (Article 1(5)) which, under
the direction of the Secretary General,
acts as a neutral interface between
the parties, their representatives and
the Court. Should any questions arise
relating to the Rules or ICC
procedures, please contact the team
in charge of your arbitration at your
convenience.
Disputes are resolved by arbitral
tribunals, the members of which will
either be confirmed, in the case of
arbitrators nominated by the parties or
the co-arbitrators (Articles 13(1) and
13(2)) or appointed by the Court
(Articles 13(3) and 13(4)).
The Courts administration of
arbitrations includes closely
monitoring the progress of the
proceedings.
Where Requests for Arbitration
can be Submitted
ICC arbitration is commenced upon
the Secretariats receipt of a Request
for Arbitration at any of its offices
(Article 4(1) and Article 5(3) of
Appendix II), including its Hong Kong
office, which opened in 2008.
Pleas on Jurisdiction
In order to expedite proceedings
where any party:
(i) does not file an answer,
(ii) raises one or more pleas
concerning the existence, validity or
scope of the arbitration agreement, or
(iii) questions whether all of the claims
may be determined together in a
single arbitration,
the arbitration will proceed and the
arbitral tribunal shall decide such
issue, unless the Secretary General
refers the matter to the Court for a
decision (Articles 6(3) and 6(4)).
If the Secretary General refers the
case to the Court, it will then decide
whether and to what extent the
arbitration shall proceed. An
arbitration will proceed if and to the
extent that the Court is prima facie
satisfied that an arbitration agreement
under the Rules may exist (Article
6(4)).
Joinder of Additional Parties,
Claims between Multiple Parties and
Multiple Contracts
For the first time, the Rules expressly
provide for a transparent procedure in
relation to (i) requests to join
additional parties to an arbitration
(Article 7); (ii) claims made in an
arbitrations involving multiple parties
(Article 8); and (iii) claims arising out
of more than one contract in a single
arbitration (Article 9).
Requests for joinder of a party are
similar to Requests for Arbitration
(Article 7). When a request for joinder
is submitted, the additional party
becomes a party to the arbitration and
may raise pleas pursuant to Article
6(3) of the Rules. It is important to be
aware of the timing for such joinder,
as no additional party may be joined
after the confirmation or appointment
of an arbitrator, unless the parties and
the additional party agree otherwise.
Thus, a party to an arbitration wishing
to join an additional party must file its
Request for Joinder before any
arbitrator is confirmed or appointed
under the Rules.
Consolidation of Arbitrations
The Court may consolidate two or
more pending arbitrations at the
request of a party, provided that any
of the three situations set out in Article
10 of the Rules exist. Factors that the
Court may take into account include
whether any arbitrator has been
confirmed or appointed in any of the
arbitrations and if so, whether the
same persons have been confirmed or
appointed in the arbitrations.
Arbitral Tribunal
The Court requires all potential
arbitrators to complete and sign a
Statement of Acceptance, Availability,
Impartiality and Independence (Article
11(2) of the Rules). Recent additions
to this Statement concern arbitrators
availability and impartiality.
Since 2010, potential arbitrators must
indicate the number of arbitrations in
which they currently act, specifying
whether they act as president, sole
arbitrator, co-arbitrator or as parties
counsel, as well as their availability
over the next 12 to 18 months. This is
intended to encourage prospective
arbitrators to focus on their duty to
conduct arbitrations in an expeditious
and costs-effective manner (Article
22).
Furthermore, arbitrators are obliged to
act at all times in an impartial and
independent manner pursuant to
Article 11of the Rules.
Case Management Techniques
In 2007, the ICC Commission on
Arbitration produced a Report on the
Techniques for Controlling Time and
Costs in Arbitration (Report), which
has been widely acknowledged as a
compilation of useful suggestions to
effectively control time and costs in a
manner proportionate with the value
and/or complexity of an arbitration.
Articles 22 and 24 of the Rules and
Appendix V thereto include provisions
to encourage the effective
management of the arbitration. The
parties must comply with directions
issued by arbitral tribunals.
Costs of Arbitration
Arbitral tribunals may make decisions
as to costs, except for those to be
fixed by the Court, and order payment
thereof at any time during the
proceedings (Article 37(3)).
In making decisions as to costs, the
arbitral tribunal may take into account
such circumstances as it considers
relevant, including the extent to which
each party has conducted the
arbitration in expeditious and cost
effective manner (Article 37(5)).
Should the parties withdraw their
claims or the arbitration terminates
before the rendering of a final award,
the Court shall fix the fees and
expenses of the arbitrators and the
ICC administrative expenses. If the
parties have not agreed upon the
allocation of the costs of the
arbitration or other relevant issues
with respect to costs, such matters
shall be decided by the arbitral
tribunal (Article 37(6)). In case the
arbitral tribunal is not yet constituted
at the time of the withdrawal, any
party may request the Court to
proceed with the constitution of the
arbitral tribunal so that it may make
decisions as to costs.
Closing of the Proceedings and
Scrutiny of Awards
An arbitral tribunal should declare the
proceedings closed as soon as
possible after the last hearing or the
last authorized submission filed in
relation to matters to be decided in an
award, whether final or otherwise
(Article 27). Upon doing so, the arbitral
tribunal must inform the Secretariat
and the parties of the date by which it
expects to submit the draft award for
the Courts scrutiny (Article 33).
The scrutiny process carried out by the
Court with the assistance of its
Secretariat is a unique and thorough
procedure designed to ensure that all
awards are of the best possible quality
and are more likely to be more
enforced by state courts. All draft
awards undergo a three-step review
process, starting with the counsel of
the team in charge of the arbitration
that has followed the proceedings
since the inception of the arbitration,
followed by review by the Secretary
General, the Deputy Secretary
General, the General Counsel, or the
Managing Counsel, before being
submitted for the Courts scrutiny. For
certain arbitrations, generally those
involving state parties or dissenting
opinions, a Court member will draft a
report with recommendations on the
draft award.
Representation
If the parties foresee being
represented by counsel, they must
inform the Secretariat of the name and
address of such counsel.
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Is the recourse to ICC arbitration
limited to specific disputes or
disputes in a certain field?
No, the ICC Rules of Arbitration have
been designed to be used in all
sectors and for all types of disputes.
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Is ICC arbitration confidential?
The Court respects your privacy. In
contrast with ordinary courtroom
proceedings under public and media
gaze, ICC does not divulge details of
an arbitration case and keeps the
identities of the parties completely
confidential. So your business remains
nobody else's business. Sometimes, of
course, parties will publicize an award
but ICC's lips are always sealed. If
you wish, you may also enter into a
confidentiality agreement with the
opposing party as an additional
safeguard.
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Are parties required to be ICC
members to commence an ICC
arbitration?
No it is not necessary to be an ICC
member or to have any other
affiliation with ICC. The only
requirement is that the parties to a
contract, treaty, or separate
arbitration agreement have agreed on
ICC Arbitration.Anyone can use ICC
Arbitration, whether a company, state,
state entity, international organization
or individual.
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Is there a standard ICC arbitration
clause?
Yes, the standard ICC arbitration
clauses in different languages are
available here.
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How do I submit a Request for
Arbitration?
A Request for arbitration should not be
sent to the ICC National Committee in
your country or in the country where
the seat of arbitration is located. Click
here to know how to file a
Request for arbitration.
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Are there model forms of a Request
for Arbitration?
No. Parties are free to present their
request as they wish, provided they
comply with the provisions of the ICC
Rules of Arbitration. See more here.
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In which language shall the Request
for Arbitration be drawn up?
The language can be agreed upon by
the parties in their original contract.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties
or required by the applicable law,
requests for arbitration can be
submitted in any language.
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Can I choose my arbitrator?
You can pick your arbitrator for his or
her nationality, language or expertise -
someone who understands your
culture or line of business. The Court
checks all arbitrators for their
statement of acceptance, availability,
impartiality and independence. It will
step in to appoint a chair or a sole
arbitrator if there is no agreement, or
even choose the arbitrators if that is
the parties' preference.When required,
the Court is able to cast its net wide
by calling on ICC's national
committees and groups, with their
extensive contacts in their own
countries.Articles 11 to 15 of ICC
Rules of Arbitration deal with the
Arbitral Tribunal.
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Should the arbitrators acting in ICC
arbitration proceedings be lawyers?
No, there is no requirement under the
ICC Rules of Arbitration that the
coarbitrators, the chairman of an
arbitral tribunal or a sole arbitrator be
a lawyer. The parties or the
coarbitrators empowered by the
parties to appoint the chairman of an
ICC arbitral tribunal are free to
designate the person of their choice.
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How can I become an arbitrator in
ICC arbitration proceedings?
Individuals interested in serving as
arbitrators in ICC arbitration
proceedings should contact the ICC
national committee in the country
from which they are a national or the
relevant ICC group.When requested to
appoint an arbitrator, the ICC
International Court of Arbitration will
generally call upon a national
committee or group to make a
proposal.National committees may be
contacted directly by the parties
seeking to appoint an arbitrator from
the country and territory in which the
National committee or a group is
located.
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What should be the language of the
arbitration proceedings?
ICC Arbitrations can be conducted in
any language. Parties may agree on
the language in their original contract
or when the case goes to arbitration.
In the absence of an agreement by the
parties, the arbitral tribunal will
determine the language or languages
of the arbitrationArticle 20 of the
ICC Rules of Arbitration deals with
Language of the Arbitration.
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What are the rules of law governing
the arbitration?
You and the other party can agree on
the rules of law under which your case
will be dealt with. For example, they
could be the laws of your own country,
of the other party's country, of another
country entirely, or what the legal
profession calls "general principles of
law".Article 21 of the ICC Rules of
Arbitrationdeals with Applicable
Rules of Law.
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Where are ICC arbitration
proceedings conducted?
ICC arbitrations can be held anywhere
in the world. The seat of the
arbitration as well as the place for the
hearing can be located in any country.
The annual statistical report shows the
international nature of ICC
arbitrations. Key statistics are
available here.
The arbitral tribunal may, after
consultation with the parties, conduct
hearings and meetings at any location
it considers appropriate, unless
otherwise agreed by the parties.
Where Paris in France or Toronto in
Canada is agreed as place of
arbitration, ICC Hearing Centre and
Arbitration Place are respectively
recommended for hearings and
meetings because of their state-of-the-
art hearing facilities and all-
encompassing service.
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How much time does it take to get a
final award?
Arbitral tribunals usually take less time
than national courts to reach a final
decision.The Court monitors deadlines
from start to finish.The Court has the
power to step in and replace
arbitrators on the rare occasions that
they fail to fulfill their obligations. If
the parties agree on a fast-track
arbitration, cases can be decided
within a few months.National courts
are often congested. They may need
between three and five years to
resolve a dispute, sometimes even
longer.Article 30 of the ICC Rules
of Arbitration deals with Time Limit
for the Final Award.
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Are the parties obliged to comply
with an award?
Article 34 (6) of the ICC Rules of
Arbitration provides that "Every award
shall be binding on the parties. By
submitting the dispute to arbitration
under the Rules, the parties undertake
to carry ou any award without delay and
shall be deemed to have waived their
right to any form of recourse insofar as
such waiver can validly be made."
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Where can I find ICC awards?
ICC awards are confidential. However,
The Documentation & Research Centre
of the ICC International Court of
Arbitration keeps a catalogue of ICC
arbitral awards that have published in
accordance with confidentiality
requirements. The Centre can been
reach by phone at + 33 1 49 53 29 05
or by email arb@iccwbo.org
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May I request interim or
conservatory measures?
The 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration offer
a procedure for the parties to seek
urgent interim relief that cannot await
the constitution of the arbitral tribunal.
See the conditions to an
Emergency Arbitrator.
See also Article 28 of ICC Rules of
Arbitration which deals with
Conservatory and Interim Measures
ordered by the arbitral tribunal.
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How are the costs of arbitration
fixed?
Arbitration is cost effective because
the relative speed of arbitration
compared with litigation keeps
lawyers' costs down. Parties generally
pay less in the long run for arbitration
than if they take their case to national
courts.If you are worried about
arbitrators dragging out proceedings
to pad their fees, forget it. The Court
sets ICC fees according to a fixed
scale, primarily based on the amount
in dispute. Wasting time is not in the
arbitrators' financial interest.

Ten good reasons to choose ICC

arbitration
1. Reputable
ICC Arbitration and the ICC
International Court of Arbitration are
known and enormously respected
worldwide by businesses,
governments, judges, lawyers and
academics, among others. That
reputation was earned by a long
history of the Court striving for
excellence and constantly being at the
forefront of developments in the world
of international arbitration.
ICC was established in 1919, and the
Court in 1923.
2. Global
No other arbitration institution can
match the global reach and
international character of ICC
Arbitration.
In 2010, ICC Arbitration took
place in 53 countries in 98 different
places, involved 1331 arbitrators of
73 different nationalities, with 2145
parties from 140 different
countries, among 793 cases
registered and 479 awards
rendered. The Court's members
come from 90 countries and boast
numerous world renowned experts
in international arbitration.
Furthermore, the Court and
Secretariat can call upon ICC
 national committees in some 94
countries for assistance in finding
the best arbitrators.
In 2010, the range of languages
in which awards were drafted
extended to 12. In 79.25% of cases
the language used was English.
Other languages used were: French
(7.26%), Spanish (4.15%), German
(3.11%), Portuguese (1.87%),
Italian (1.66%), Czech (0.83%),
Polish (0.83%), Turkish (0.41%),
Chinese (0.21%), Greek (0.21%)
and Russian (0.21%).
The Secretariat has a staff of
more than 80 including some 45
lawyers holding approximately 29
nationalities and speaking
approximately 25 languages.
3. Neutral
ICC is a non-governmental
organization and is truly neutral and
independent.
ICC Arbitration may take place in any
country, in any language and with any
independent and impartial arbitrators
of any nationality.
4. Accessible
While maintaining strict neutrality,
Secretariat staff are always available
to answer questions from parties, their
counsel, arbitrators, and any other
actors involved in ICC Arbitration.
When drafting a contract for example,
parties can easily contact the
Secretariat with a question about ICC
Arbitration clauses. As an alternative
to calling the Secretariats Paris or
Hong Kong offices, parties may
contact one of the Regional Directors
based in Asia; the Middle East and
Africa; Latin America; North America
and the United Kingdom. Secretariat
staff are reachable by phone or email.
During an arbitration, parties and
arbitrators are in close contact with
the team of the Secretariat that has
been assigned to manage their case.
5. Flexible
ICC Arbitration is adaptable to the
parties needs. The Rules of Arbitration
are short, flexible and simple. They
can be adapted or simply used for
virtually any kind of procedure that
the parties want.
Number of arbitrators
The parties are free to agree on the
number of arbitrators. Failing
agreement, the Court will decide
whether there is to be one or three.
When three arbitrators are required,
each party generally chooses one and
the third is appointed by the Court
unless the parties agree on a different
appointment method. Sole arbitrators
are appointed by the Court, unless the
parties agree otherwise.
Choice of arbitrators
There is not a list of arbitrators so the
parties can choose whomever they
want, provided that all arbitrators are
and remain independent and
impartial.
The Court requires all arbitrators to
sign a statement of acceptance,
independence, impartiality, and
availability. The Court can refuse to
confirm nominated arbitrators in
certain circumstances, such as when
they do not meet the required
standards of independence,
impartiality or availability.
Place of arbitration, hearings and
meetings
ICC Arbitrations can be held anywhere
in the world. The parties can choose
the legal place of arbitration that they
consider most appropriate in the
interests of neutrality, economy
convenience, and legal effectiveness.
Parties can alternatively leave this
important choice to the Court, trusting
in its members expertise to select the
right place for their arbitration.
Regardless of the place of arbitration,
the parties can choose to hold
hearings and meetings in different
locations. In fact it sometimes
happens that no hearing or meeting is
held at the place of arbitration.
Governing law
Parties can agree on the applicable
law by choosing the law of any state,
or transnational legal principles such
as the general principles of
international commercial law. They
could alternatively opt for no law at
all, empowering the arbitral tribunal to
decide the case as amiable
compositeur or decide ex aequo et
bono.
Language
Arbitrations can take place in any
language or even in several languages
simultaneously (although the latter
can be inconvenient and cause
additional costs). Parties can agree on
any language(s) for the arbitration,
failing which the arbitral tribunal will
decide it.
Time limits
The parties can fix deadlines for
anything, such as for the filing of
submissions, hearings, and for
completing the arbitration. Caution
must be exercised, however, when
fixing deadlines to ensure that they
are not unrealistic.
Case parameters
It is up to the parties to spell out the
claims and how the case will be
handled. For example, parties may
prefer the case to be decided solely on
the basis of documents or witnesses to
be called.
Arbitrators' powers
Parties can fix or limit the arbitrators
role and powers, where this is
considered desirable. The parties can
even decide to remove an arbitrator
they are not happy with at any time.
6. Controlling time and party
generated costs
If the parties agree on appropriate
procedures, arbitration can be faster
and cheaper than court litigation,
especially considering that arbitration
is final in the sense that there is
generally no appeal from an
international arbitral award.
The Court is committed to assisting
parties and arbitral tribunals in
ensuring that disputes are resolved as
quickly and as economically as
possible. The ICC Commission on
Arbitration and ADR, the Courts
legislative and policy organ, recently
undertook a detailed study on
controlling time and costs in
arbitration. A set of guidelines was
produced, and several of the key
recommendations from those
guidelines were incorporated into the
2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration. In fact,
one of the reasons for revising the ICC
Rules of Arbitration was to incorporate
provisions aimed at minimizing time
and costs.
The Court closely monitors time limits
and arbitrators performance. The
Court can step in and replace
arbitrators that fail to fulfill their
obligations promptly.
ICC recommends ICC Arbitration
Commission Report on Techniques
for Controlling Time and Costs in
Arbitration
7. Predictable administrative costs
and arbitrators' fees
The Court fixes ICCs administrative
costs using a costs scale, by reference
primarily to the amount in dispute. As
the amount in dispute increases, the
percentage of administrative costs
decreases, until the cap is reached.
The arbitrators fees are also
calculated by reference to a costs
scale. Using the cost scales has two
main advantages. First, it means that
the parties know up front how much
the arbitration is likely to cost. Second,
it means that the cost of resolving a
dispute will be appropriately
proportionate to its economic value.
The Court retains discretion to adjust
up or down the amount of costs
generated by the costs scales where
necessary.
Parties can calculate the approximate
cost of ICC Arbitration by using the
cost calculator on the Courts website.
Simply enter the amount in dispute to
calculate the fees and administrative
costs generated by the scales.
Link to the Cost calculator
8. Interim measures of protection
The ICC Rules of Arbitration provide
various options for parties seeking
urgent interim relief. The 2012 Rules of
Arbitration provide a procedure for
urgent interim relief within two weeks
of filing a request, and thus well
before the arbitral tribunal is
constituted. Another option is state
courts. The Rules preserve parties
rights to seek such relief from courts.
A third option is to seek urgent relief
from the arbitral tribunal, once
constituted.
9. Confidentiality
The Court and Secretariats work is
entirely confidential. ICC does not
disclose any information about its
cases except to those involved.
The arbitration process is also private,
unlike domestic court proceedings
which are usually open to the public.
Parties are also free to make their
arbitration proceedings confidential,
so that the parties cannot disclose
documents, submissions and awards.
An obligation of confidentiality is
considered to be implied into an
arbitration agreement under some
laws. Arbitral tribunals may also make
orders concerning confidentiality and
may take measures for protecting
trade secrets and confidential
information.
10. Award scrutiny to enhance
enforceability
The Court strives to ensure that all ICC
awards are enforceable. The
mandatory award scrutiny process, in
particular, is renowned for improving
both the convincingness and
enforceability of awards. It involves a
thorough review of all awards by at
least four or five expert arbitration
lawyers, including Secretariat staff and
Court members. Potential problems
are regularly discovered. In 2010 the
Court approved 479 awards, of which
444 were returned to the arbitral
tribunal with at least some comments
to be addressed.
Improving an awards convincingness
increases its chances of being
complied with voluntarily. Most ICC
awards are, in fact, respected without
the need for legal enforcement
procedures. Where enforcement
becomes necessary, ICCs stamp of
approval together with the Courts
careful monitoring of the proceedings
and scrutiny of awards is intended to
maximize the awards chances of
being enforceable.
Several international, regional or
bilateral conventions facilitate the
enforcement of arbitral awards. More
than 145 countries have adopted the
1958 New York Convention on the
Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Arbitral Awards, an extremely
successful international law in this
respect