To begin an ICC Arbitration you need to submit a “Request for Arbitration” with the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration®.
As of October 2022, parties are encouraged to file their requests for arbitration electronically, using ICC’s digital case management platform ICC Case Connect – Secure online case management made easy.
Launched in October 2022, ICC Case Connect is ICC’s digital case management platform connecting parties, arbitral tribunals and the ICC Secretariat. ICC Case Connect facilitates communication and document-sharing and offers a secure, dedicated, online space in which all case documents and information are centralised and easily accessible to all case users.
The ICC Case Connect Terms and Conditions can be downloaded here.
Cases registered as of October 2022 will benefit from ICC Case Connect. Parties and arbitral tribunals are encouraged to make use of the ICC Case Connect environment, although they are able to determine the extent to which they do so. For cases registered as of October 2022, the ICC Secretariat will communicate principally via ICC Case Connect. Therefore case users should envisage that some interaction with the platform will be necessary.
ICC Case Connect is available at no additional charge for ICC arbitrations.
ICC Case Connect is intended for new cases only. However, for cases registered before October 2022 (i) in which the case file has not yet been transferred to the arbitral tribunal, (ii) in which all participating parties to the arbitration agree to its usage and/ or (iii) where use of the platform will provide a clear benefit to the proceedings, some exceptions may be envisaged. Feasibility will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Contact your case management team to find out more.
There is no required or model form and in practice Requests come in numerous styles and formats. Claimants are free to determine the form of the Request, provided that Article 4 of the Rules is respected.
Parties are encouraged to file their Requests electronically using ICC Case Connect. Via the Request form, Claimants will be invited to supply key information in relation to their Request, and to upload their Request and any relevant annexes.
Parties can contact the ICC Secretariat’s dedicated registry team (+33 1 49 53 28 78) to find out more about filing Requests via ICC Case Connect or alternative means of submission. It is not possible to file a Request with an ICC national committee.
Claimant(s)’ representatives may designate any member of personnel, including administrative or support staff, to create an ICC Case Connect account, complete the form and upload the Request.
The person completing the Request form on behalf of Claimant(s) will be invited to complete a limited number of fields pertaining to the arbitration and to upload the Request and its annexes. Various fields are optional (intended to facilitate processing and analysis by the Secretariat) and may therefore be left blank. Once the Request has been submitted, the person completing form can download a report of the information and documents provided to the Secretariat. To amend or supplement the information or documents, Claimant(s) are invited to contact the dedicated registry team of the Secretariat.
Via the section relating to the Claimant(s), the person filling out the information will be asked to stipulate all persons representing Claimant(s). It is important to include in this sections all persons to whom case correspondence should be notified.
Pursuant to the Rules, Requests are only notified by the ICC Court Secretariat once the filing fee is duly received.
Claimants should specify via the request form whether they request the Respondent(s) to be notified electronically or whether hard copies have been dispatched to the ICC Secretariat for delivery against receipt, registered post or courier. If the Claimant requests electronic notification of the Request, the Request will be notified via email.
If Claimants request notification of the Request by delivery against receipt, registered post or courier, the Request and attached documents must be supplied in as many copies as there are Respondents. For cases filed via ICC Case Connect, it is not necessary to send additional hard copies for the ICC Secretariat and each arbitrator.
Hard copies shall be submitted to any of the offices specified here.
The date of the commencement of the arbitration is the date on which the Request is received by the Secretariat, either by electronic submission or upon receipt of hard copies.
In accordance with Appendix III, Article 1 (1), each Request must be accompanied by a non-refundable filing fee of US$5,000.
Before proceeding to payment, Claimant parties should consult the Explanatory Note on VAT Applicable on ICC Administrative Expenses to verify whether French value-added tax (“VAT”) will be payable on their ICC administrative expenses. When VAT is applicable (e.g., for Claimant parties established in France) a non-refundable filing fee of US$6,000 is requested.
Pursuant to the Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on ICC Compliance, under certain circumstances Claimant parties may be requested to pay the filing fee in EUR currency.
Claimants are invited to transmit proof of filing fee payment to the ICC Secretariat along with their Request. The filing fee payment should originate from the party to the case or, if payment is made by a third party on behalf of the Claimant(s), clarification of the legal relationship with the Claimant(s) and proof that this entity is entitled to make payments on behalf of the Claimant(s) must also be provided along with the Request.
Please note that if the bank considers the clarification and corresponding documentation unsatisfactory pursuant to its legal obligations under French law, the payment received by ICC may be delayed, cancelled, or rejected.
The ICC Arbitration Rules offer a procedure for parties to seek urgent temporary relief. This procedure offers a short-term solution for parties that are unable to wait for the constitution of an Arbitral Tribunal. Emergency arbitrator applications must be sent by email to: emergencyarbitrator@iccwbo.org.
Click here to understand the relevant provisions of the ICC Rules and learn more about how to begin an emergency arbitrator procedure. For information or support from the Secretariat in this regard, contact:
ICC is bound to operate in conformity with applicable sanctions regulations, such as those imposed by the United Nations, European Union and Office of Foreign Assets Control. If parties have reasonable doubt that a sanctions regime is applicable to their Request, they must inform ICC in advance prior to submitting any such Request and prior to paying the respective filing fee. In such case, please contact compliance@iccwbo.org. Compliance information regarding administrative measures taken during proceedings administered by the ICC International Court of Arbitration® and International Centre for ADR can be found in the Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on ICC Compliance.
Parties can make payments via bank transfer or check using the details available via the ICC website.
The Secretariat remains at your full disposal for any enquiry, issue or request for support relating to any future or pending ICC Arbitration.
Enquiries about the filing of Requests can be addressed either to the dedicated registry team (+33 1 49 53 28 78) of the Secretariat at ICC Global Headquarters or to any of the ICC Secretariat’s regional offices.
General and cost-related enquiries regarding ICC Arbitration proceedings should be addressed to the ICC Secretariat via this address.
Platform support and technical issues should be addressed to the dedicated ICC Case Connect helpdesk (copying your case management team at their ica@ email address).
Finally, for all matters relating to a pending case, be sure to count on the ICC case management team in charge of your case.
