ICC to Unveil New Arbitration Rules at Conference | Paris, Sept. 12-13, 2011

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration have been newly revised to take into account current requirements and developments in arbitration practice and procedure since the last revision in 1998. The new Rules are the product of two years of work within the ICC Commission on Arbitration, a think tank of 620 dispute resolution specialists from 90 countries.

The ICC will unveil the new Rules and explain the changes at a conference in Paris, on September 12-13, 2011. Topics to be addressed include:

General Provisions

The first part of this session will focus on the opening provisions of the new Rules concerning the institution, the application of the Rules and the initiation of arbitration proceedings. The new provisions clarify the respective roles of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, its Secretariat and the arbitral tribunals, and confirm the broad scope of ICC arbitration, which is available for disputes arising from investment treaties as well as all kinds of commercial contracts. The new Rules recognize the specificity of the former and arbitrations involving States and State entities. The session will also address filing requirements and confidentiality, including a new provision explicitly allowing for confidentiality orders.

The Arbitral Tribunal

The constitution of the arbitral tribunal is a core element in any set of arbitration rules, reflecting the adage that an arbitration is only as good as the arbitrator. This session will deal with the changes made in the new Rules to the appointment of arbitrators by the ICC International Court of Arbitration and to the obligations incumbent upon arbitrators, which now explicitly encompass impartiality as well as independence.

Improving Time & Cost Efficiency

One of the principal aims of the revised ICC Rules – and one of the chief requests from corporate users – was to provide for effective means of controlling time and costs in arbitration. This session will present the revised provisions in this field. They are designed to allow the Secretariat of the ICC Court to constitute arbitral tribunals and turn around draft awards with greater rapidity, and to enable and encourage parties and arbitrators to conduct proceedings in an expeditious and cost-effective manner.

Emergency Arbitrator Provisions

A new feature in the revised Rules is the provision allowing parties to apply for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator to decide on urgent conservatory or interim measures that cannot await the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. This session will present that provision and an entirely new appendix to the Rules, which sets out the rules governing emergency arbitrator proceedings.

Multi-party, multi-contract arbitration and consolidation

In the past decade, the transactions underlying the disputes referred to ICC arbitration have become increasingly complex, involving multiple parties and contracts. The new revision has introduced into the Rules for the first time a section devoted specifically to arbitrations involving multiple parties, multiple contracts and consolidation. This session will look at these new provisions and related provisions on the fixing of advances on costs, and consider how they will operate in practice.

Information about the conference is here. You may download the conference brochure here.

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