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LCIA releases data on average costs and duration of LCIA proceedings
Practical Law UK Legal Update 9-619-9896 (Approx. 4 pages)
LCIA releases data on average costs and duration of LCIA proceedings
| Published on 04 Nov 2015 • England, International, Wales |
The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has released data on the average costs and duration of an LCIA arbitration.
The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has released data showing the average costs and duration of an LCIA arbitration. Cost and duration were identified as areas of concern in the 2015 International Arbitration Survey: Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration, published by Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) and White & Case in October. The survey revealed a desire for greater transparency by the institutions regarding the duration of arbitration proceedings (see Legal update, QMUL publishes results of 2015 international arbitration survey).
The LCIA analysed all cases it administered in which a final award was issued between 1 January 2013 and 15 June 2015. For each case, it measured the duration from the date of the LCIA's receipt of the Request for Arbitration to the date of the final award, and recorded the costs of the arbitration as determined by the LCIA Court, concluding that the average duration of an LCIA arbitration is 16 months and the average costs are US$99,000.
Unlike other major arbitral institutions that calculate arbitration costs on an ad valorem basis (such as the ICC, the HKIAC and the SIAC), the LCIA determines costs on an hourly basis. As such, users cannot rely on a costs calculator to obtain an estimate of likely costs (and make a comparison between institutions). The LCIA says that the comparison it carried out shows that, based on an overall comparison of arbitration costs, the costs of LCIA arbitration are below those of the ICC and SIAC and comparable with those of the HKIAC. For cases of less than US$1 million, the LCIA's costs were comparable with the ICC and SIAC, but higher than the HKIAC; for cases of over US$1 million, the LCIA's costs were lower than the ICC and SIAC, and comparable with the HKIAC.
No comparative analysis of the duration of proceedings was possible, as the other institutions do not provide comparable data. However, the LCIA expressed the hope that other institutions will follow its example and provide this information.