2018: 10 key moments from ICC’s Dispute Resolution year

1. Leading the future of dispute resolution

In February, 11 new Vice-Chairs were appointed to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. Commission membership comprises approximately 850 practicing lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, in-house counsel and academics and includes members from more than 90 countries worldwide. The next meeting of the Commission will take place in April next year, in Paris, France, home to ICC Global Headquarters.

2. The world’s preferred arbitral institution

In March, the ICC Court published preliminary statistics revealing that cases filed in 2017 involved 2,316 parties from a record 142 countries. The figures also showed that the 1,548 pending cases at the end of 2017 represented an average value in dispute of US$ 137,325, 630 with newly-registered cases in 2017 representing an aggregate value in dispute of over US$ 30.85 billion. Commenting on the statistics, ICC Court President Alexis Mourre said: “These figures confirm that due to its unique quality and its signature quality control process of awards, ICC is by far the preferred institution for high-value, complex multi-party and multi-contracts disputes across the globe.” A full statistical report was published later in the year in the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin.

3. Paris Arbitration Week

Paris may well be known for high fashion and gastronomy but Paris Arbitration Week showcased the City of Light’s role as a globally renowned hub for international arbitration.

ICC events during Paris Arbitration Week took place over five days, bringing dispute resolution professionals together to discuss latest regional developments and best practices, and for networking opportunities.

4. ICC: The global arbitral institution on the Belt and Road

2019 also saw the launch of an ICC Belt and Road Commission to address dispute resolution potential in relation to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Led by Justin D’Agostino, Global Head of Dispute Resolution at Herbert Smith Freehills and Alternate ICC Court Member for Hong Kong, the commission works to drive the development of ICC’s existing procedures and infrastructure to support Belt and Road disputes.

In July, the Court also announced plans to create an Africa Commission to coordinate ICC’s expanding range of activities and growth on the continent.

5. Advancing dispute resolution in Brazil

ICC joined forces with Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry (CNI) to inaugurate a new state-of-the-art dispute resolution facility in Sao Paulo, a new milestone for advancing dispute resolution in one of ICC’s key markets. The ICC/CNI International Arbitration Hearing Centre was officially inaugurated on the occasion of the 7th ICC Brazilian Arbitration Day by ICC Court President Alexis Mourre, Chair of ICC Brazil Daniel Feffer and CNI President Robson Andrade.

6. A record-breaking live broadcast

In June, more than 225,000 participants from all over the world tuned in to watch the ICC Court’s first ever live-broadcast from a major event. The broadcast of keynotes speeches and the conference’s opening session marked the largest audience that media company Lawyers Talk had ever received for an English-speaking broadcast.

7. Full gender parity of the ICC Court achieved

More good news in June came with the re-appointment of ICC Court President Alexis Mourre for a second three-year term along with the appointment of 176 members from 104 countries for the Court’s 2018-2021 term, representing complete gender parity of 88 women and 88 men.

ICC Court President Alexis Mourre said: “To have achieved full gender parity in the ICC Court is a major milestone in the history of international arbitration. We are also extremely proud of the level of renewal marked by the new Court, with unprecedented regional diversity.”

8. Celebrating 60 years of the New York Convention

ICC and UNCITRAL marked the 60th anniversary of the New York Convention in July, co-hosting a celebratory reception attended by over 150 members of the international arbitration community in New York City. ICC initiated the creation of the Convention in 1950 by submitting a first draft prepared by ICC’s Commission on Arbitration and ADR. Today, the convention is instrumental to enforcing awards worldwide.

9. ICC: the world’s trusted dispute settlement body

In October, ICC announced it had been selected by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers – more commonly known by its French acronym FIDIC – as the trusted dispute settlement body to decide on challenges filed against its Dispute Adjudication/Avoidance Boards (DAAB) Members. Under FIDIC’s suite of contracts launched in December 2017, any challenge brought by parties against a DAAB Member will be decided by ICC and administered by the ICC International Centre for ADR.

10. 16th ICC Miami Conference sees success in numbers

The 16th edition of the ICC Miami Conference on International Arbitration concluded the ICC Court’s tour of regional events for the 2019 year. The annual conference was the largest to date, gathering 632 participants from 38 countries. The three-day event included nine sessions led by 40 speakers, who spoke on a variety of subjects from technology in international arbitration to opportunities and threats in China-Latin American disputes. The conference also served as a yet another example of the Court’s push for diversity. After signing the “ICC Gender Balance Pledge” in October, the Miami Conference’s roster of experts included 19 women who served as speakers.