Arbitration

Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration – 01-01-2021

  • 29 December 2020

Note To Parties And Arbitral Tribunals On The Conduct Of Arbitration - 01-01-2021

This Note is intended to provide parties and arbitral tribunals with practical guidance concerning the conduct of arbitrations under the 2021 ICC Rules of Arbitration (“Rules”) as well as the practices of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“Court”).

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I – General information

1.This Note is intended to provide parties and arbitral tribunals with practical guidance concerning the conduct of arbitrations under the ICC Rules of Arbitration (“Rules”) as well as the practices of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“Court”).

2. Unless otherwise indicated, this Note applies to all ICC arbitrations regardless of the version of the Rules pursuant to which they are conducted. The Articles in this Note refer to the 2021 Rules.

A – The ICC International Court of Arbitration and its Secretariat

3. The Court is an administrative body that ensures that ICC arbitrations are conducted in accordance with the Rules. It does not itself resolve disputes (Article 1(2)).

4. The Court is assisted by its Secretariat (Article 1(5)). The Secretariat is led by the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General and the Managing Counsel. It is composed of case management teams, each headed by a Counsel.

5. The Secretariat closely monitors each arbitration and assists parties and arbitral tribunals with any questions relating to the conduct of the arbitration. The parties and/or their representatives are encouraged to contact the Secretariat with any questions or comments arising from the Rules and/or this Note.

6. At the end of each arbitration, the parties, their counsel or other representatives (“counsel”) and the arbitrators will be invited to submit an evaluation form to the Secretariat.

B – Where Requests for Arbitration can be Submitted

7. ICC arbitration is commenced upon the Secretariat’s receipt of a Request for Arbitration. Requests for Arbitration may be submitted by email at this address or at any of the Secretariat’s offices in hard copies (Articles 4(1) of the Rules and 5(3) of Appendix II). Updated information on the list of the Secretariat’s offices where Requests for Arbitration may be submitted is maintained here.

8. Upon receipt of the Request for Arbitration, the Secretary General will assign the case to one of the Secretariat’s case management teams in any of the Secretariat’s offices. The case file may be transferred to an office of the Secretariat other than the office in which the Request for Arbitration was filed.

C – Communications

9. Pursuant to Article 3(1), parties and arbitrators must send copies of all written communications directly to all other parties, arbitrators and the Secretariat.

10. As a general rule, the Request for Arbitration (Article 4), the Answer and any counterclaims (Article 5), and any Request for Joinder (Article 7) must be sent to the Secretariat by email. Hard copies should be submitted only where the party filing the Request, Answer and any counterclaim or any Request for Joinder requests transmission thereof by delivery against receipt, registered post or courier. In all other instances, hard copies should not be sent to the Secretariat, even when the arbitral tribunal has asked to be provided with hard copies.

11. The Secretariat will communicate via email, unless circumstances warrant other means of communication. The parties, counsel and prospective arbitrators must provide the Secretariat with their email addresses.

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