On 8 October 2015, the ICC International Court of Arbitration announced that it will give reasons for many of the administrative decisions it is asked to render under the ICC Rules of Arbitration. The new policy is effective immediately in new and ongoing arbitrations, and will apply where all parties to a case agree.

The types of decision for which the ICC Court may now give reasons include decisions on arbitrator challenges. The ICC's previous practice of not giving reasons for such decisions has been the subject of criticism and this new policy is an attempt to bolster transparency in response to growing demand from users. It also chimes with views expressed by respondents to the 2015 International Arbitration Survey, the results of which were published by the School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) earlier this week. Respondents to the survey identified greater transparency of institutional decision-making in the sphere of arbitrator appointments and challenges as a development that would improve international arbitration (see Legal update, QMUL publishes results of 2015 international arbitration survey).

The ICC Court may also now give reasons for the following types of decisions:

Parties who would like the ICC Court to provide its reasons for a decision must request this before the ICC Court renders the decision. Communication of reasons may result in an increase in the administrative expenses, usually of no more than USD5000.

Source: ICC Court to communicate reasons as a new service to users (8 October 2015).