DOCDEX Procedure

All communications and submissions in the proceedings are sent to or by the Centre. There are no direct communications between the parties and the Appointed Experts, whose identity shall remain confidential. 

DOCDEX proceedings do not provide for the oral examination of fact or expert witnesses or for oral submissions at a hearing. Accordingly, the DOCDEX Rules are not appropriate where such examination or submissions are required to resolve any factual or legal issues raised by the Claim. 

DOCDEX proceedings and Decisions are confidential. The DOCDEX Decision is not binding on the parties unless all of the parties expressly agree in writing that such findings shall be contractually binding upon them. A DOCDEX Decision is not an arbitral award. 

All submissions in DOCDEX proceedings and all DOCDEX Decisions are rendered in English only. 

All notifications or communications to and from the Centre are made by email o. For such electronic communications, the Centre will use the last email  address of the Claimant or Respondent or its representatives, as notified to the Centre. If the Respondent fails to notify the Centre otherwise, the Centre may use the address for the Respondent that is provided by the Claimant. 

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Process 

The Rules cover all aspects of the DOCDEX proceedings, from the scope of applicability of the DOCDEX Rules, the appointment of the experts, the timetable for the DOCDEX proceedings, the scrutiny of the DOCDEX Decision and the costs of the proceedings. 

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 Filing a Claim 

To apply for a DOCDEX Decision, one or more Claimant(s) must file a Claim using Form 1(click here). The Claim must be accompanied by the payment of the applicable filing fee. The Centre will determine whether the Claim falls within the scope of the DOCDEX Rules and will, as the case may be, either reject the Claim or notify the Respondent(s) of the Claim. The Centre will consult with the Technical Adviser to the ICC Banking Commission to determine whether the Claim falls within the scope of the DOCDEX Rules. 

Where the DOCDEX Rules are applicable and upon receipt of a complete Claim and filing fee, the Centre will send a copy of the Claim to each Respondent and invite each Respondent to submit an Answer. 

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Filing an Answer 

Respondent(s) may file an Answer to the Claim by using Form 2. The Centre shall send an electronic copy of Form 2 to Respondent(s) when notifying the Claim. Respondent(s) need not pay any fees to participate in the DOCDEX proceedings. In its discretion, any Respondent may choose not to submit an Answer. An Answer must be filed within the time limit specified by the Centre, which shall not exceed 30 days from the date Respondent(s) received notification of the Claim. Any Answer received after the expiry of the specified time limit will be disregarded. 

The DOCDEX proceedings shall continue regardless of whether Respondent(s) submit an Answer to the Claim. However, Respondent(s) who fail to submit an Answer shall not receive a copy of the DOCDEX Decision. 

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Supplements 

The Centre may request Claimant(s) or Respondent(s) to submit supplementary information or copies of documents that the Panel considers relevant to the rendering of a DOCDEX Decision. To file such a Supplement, Claimant(s) and/or Respondent(s) shall use Form 3, and must submit the Supplement within 14 days of the Centre’s request. An electronic copy of Form 3 shall be sent to the parties by the Centre. The Centre shall forward the Supplement to each Claimant and Respondent. No Supplement will be admissible to the DOCDEX proceedings unless invited and submitted upon the request of the Centre. 

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Appointed experts 

Upon receipt of an admissible Claim, the Centre will appoint a panel of three experts (“Appointed Experts”) from a list maintained by the ICC Banking Commission (“List”). Said List consists of experts having experience in, and knowledge of, trade finance transactions. 

In selecting the Appointed Experts, the Centre consults with the Technical Adviser to the ICC Banking Commission, who provides guidance on the area(s) of expertise that the Claim requires and that the Appointed Experts should possess. The Centre also designates one of the Appointed Experts to act as the president. 

Before any appointment, prospective Appointed Experts must sign a statement of acceptance, availability, impartiality and independence and must disclose in writing to the Centre any facts or circumstances which might be of such a nature as to call into question their independence in the eyes of any Claimant or Respondent, as well as any circumstances that could give rise to reasonable doubts as to their impartiality. The Centre will take any such disclosure into account before making the appointment. 

The Appointed Experts’ identities remain confidential and the parties will only communicate with the Appointed Experts via the Centre. 

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Decision 

DOCDEX Decisions are issued in English using Form 4. The Centre shall send an electronic copy of Form 4 to the Appointed Experts. 

The Appointed Experts render the Decision exclusively on the basis of the Claim, any Answer and any Supplement, the terms and conditions of the trade finance-related instrument, undertaking or agreement, the ICC Banking Rules that may be applicable and international standard practice in trade finance. If the Appointed Experts consider that the Claim is outside the scope of the Rules, the Centre shall reject the Claim. If the Claimant and Respondent disagree as to whether the Claim falls within the scope of the Rules, the Appointed Experts will nevertheless continue with the proceedings and render a Decision to the extent that they consider the Claim to fall within the scope of the Rules. 

Following deliberations among the Appointed Experts, the President prepares and submits to the Centre a draft of the Decision. The draft Decision must be submitted to the Centre within 30 days of receipt by the Appointed Experts of all information and documents they consider necessary for determining the issues in dispute. 

Upon receipt of the draft Decision from the President, the Centre transmits it to the Technical Adviser for scrutiny. The Technical Adviser may lay down modifications as to the form of the draft Decision and, without affecting the Appointed Experts’ liberty of decision, may also draw their attention to points of substance. No Decision is rendered by the Appointed Experts until it has been approved by the Technical Adviser as to its form. 

Once a Decision has been made, the Centre sends a copy of the Decision to each Claimant and to any Respondent that has submitted an Answer pursuant to Article 4 of the Rules.