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ICC implements further policies to bolster transparency and increase efficiency
Practical Law UK Legal Update 9-621-6075 (Approx. 3 pages)
ICC implements further policies to bolster transparency and increase efficiency
| Published on 06 Jan 2016 • France, International |
The International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has announced two new policies aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency in ICC arbitration proceedings.
On 5 January 2016, the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) revealed two new policies aimed at bolstering transparency and increasing the efficiency of ICC arbitration proceedings.
In its latest move to strengthen transparency (see also Legal update, ICC Court may give reasons for administrative decisions), the ICC Court will now publish on its website the names and nationality of arbitrators sitting in all ICC cases registered from 1 January 2016. This will also include details as to whether the appointment was made by the ICC Court or by the parties, as well as specifying which arbitrator is the chairperson. The information will be published once the tribunal is constituted and will remain on the website after the case has concluded. However, parties may opt out of disclosing the tribunal details, as well as requesting that the court publish additional information.
In a separate move, the ICC Court has also provided information on the costs consequences against arbitrators for unjustified delays in submitting draft awards. An ICC arbitral tribunal is required to submit a draft award within three months from the last substantive hearing or, if later, the filing of the last written submission (reduced to two months for sole arbitrators). Unless the ICC Court is satisfied that a delay is justified, it may lower arbitrators' fees by:
- 5-10%, for draft awards submitted up to seven months (from the last substantive hearing or written submissions).
- 10-20%, for draft awards submitted up to 10 months.
- 20% or more for draft awards submitted for scrutiny more than 10 months.
The ICC Court may also increase arbitrators' fees in cases where a tribunal has conducted the arbitration expeditiously.
These two new policies demonstrate the current climate under which arbitral institutions are striving for increased transparency and efficiency (see Articles, Practical Law Arbitration: Review of 2015 and Practical Law Arbitration: What to expect in 2016), which also corresponds with the views expressed in the School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London's 2015 International Arbitration Survey (see Legal update, QMUL publishes results of 2015 international arbitration survey).