Secretariat appointments

Two promotions and a new appointment have been made in ICC's Dispute Resolution Services in Paris.

Lara Hammoud, formerly Assistant Counsel at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration, has been appointed Director for the legal coordination and marketing of ICC's dispute resolution services. This is a new post, which has been created to enhance the visibility of those services and coordinate ICC's increasing involvement in a wide range of dispute resolution events and activities around the world.

Ms Hammoud holds joint French and Lebanese citizenship. She is a graduate of the University of Paris X, where she also obtained a postgraduate diploma in international commercial law. In addition, she holds an LLM from the University of Bristol in England. After completing her legal studies, she worked with several international law firms in France and Lebanon. She has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2001. Ms Hammoud speaks Arabic, French, English and Italian.

Ms Hammoud will also act as Secretary to the ICC Commission on Arbitration, following Katherine González Arrocha's move to Latin America. Ms González Arrocha's departure has also led to the appointment of a new manager for ICC's dispute resolution services other than arbitration. This position will be held by Mélanie Meilhac, who has been a lawyer at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration for over two years.

Ms Meilhac is a French citizen, admitted to the bar in France. She studied law at the University of Montpellier in France, where she obtained postgraduate qualifications in international business law and international trade and tax law. She began her legal career as an associate in the Paris office of an international law firm, where she specialized in international arbitration. She speaks French and English.

James Morrison has been appointed as Counsel at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration. He heads the case management team that principally handles cases involving Asia and the Pacific region.

Mr Morrison is an Australian citizen. He is a graduate of the University of Sydney, where he studied economics and law. He also holds a masters in international commercial arbitration law from the University of Stockholm in Sweden. Mr Morrison carried out his professional training in Australia and is admitted as a solicitor in the State of New South Wales. Before moving to Europe, he worked in the litigation and dispute resolution department of an international law firm in Sydney. Mr Morrison speaks English and French.

New Director for North America

Josefa Sicard-Mirabal has succeeded Lorraine Brennan as the new Director for ICC arbitration and ADR in North America.

Ms Sicard-Mirabal graduated in law from the Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic and continued her studies in the US at Fordham University School of Law. She began her legal career as judge and subsequently chief justice in the Dominican Republic. Since 1989 she has been a practising attorney with major law firms in the US, specializing in international arbitration and litigation, and international business transactions including mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions. Ms Sicard-Mirabal is admitted to practise in both the Dominican Republic and the State of New York. She speaks English, French and Spanish.

Ms Sicard-Mirabal is assisted by Deputy Director Nancy M. Thevenin. They may both be reached at the offices of ICC's US national committee, the US Council for International Business (USCIB).

Josefa Sicard-Mirabal

josefa.sicard-mirabal@iccwbo.org

Tel. +1 212 703 5065

Nancy M. Thevenin

nancy.thevenin@iccwbo.org

Tel. +1 212 703 5060

Fax +1 212 575 0327

Facelift for dispute resolution webpages

In response to growing demand for general information by non-specialists as well as regular consultation by legal experts, ICC has redesigned its dispute resolution web pages.

The new home page (www.iccwbo.org/court) provides an easy-to-maneuver, thumbnail description of ICC's dispute resolution services (DRS) - arbitration, ADR, Dispute Boards, expertise and DOCDEX. The subsequent pages are standardized and more concise, allowing for greater use of well-spaced links. For regular visitors, the menu and toolbar offer direct access to useful documents and services.

The new design is in harmony with the rest of ICC's website, which helps to ensure seamless browsing through the very extensive range of ICC webpages.

Since their creation in 1999, the web pages relating to the International Court of Arbitration and ICC's other dispute resolution services have become an invaluable resource for legal professionals, providing them with easy and immediate access to core texts and tools. The popularization of the Internet over recent years has led to increasing diversification amongst the users of these web pages, which are now consulted not only by lawyers already familiar with arbitration but also by newcomers to the field.

The new web pages are available in English and French. The new design will in due course be extended to the pages in Spanish, which are a recent addition to the site for the growing numbers of Spanish-speaking users.

New developments for NetCase

NetCase, ICC's secure online arbitration environment, celebrated its first anniversary at the end of 2006. Since its inauguration, this new service has attracted widespread interest and is currently in use in a growing number of cases. To ensure that the service meets the needs and expectations of its users, a number of initial improvements have been made and further developments are to follow in 2007. These changes are chiefly designed to increase the efficiency and convenience of the service for users.

The most significant set of changes was made in December 2006. They included a number of improvements in the way information is displayed. Other changes have helped to simplify and quicken the service. For example, documents posted in the system are now displayed instantaneously; and messages alerting users that a new document has been posted are sent by email only, rather than by fax, which users felt to be unnecessary.

Two further sets of changes are lined up for 2007. The first, which will be delivered in April, includes improvements in the posting and organization of documents, so as to enable users to file several documents at once, rather than having to post them one at a time, as at present. Also, a new section will be added listing all documents that have been posted, which will save users from having to go to different parts of the service when looking for specific documents. And the range of possibilities for sorting and organizing documents is to be extended. The second set of changes, which is due by the end of the year, will chiefly concern full text research.

As a service intended above all to facilitate proceedings for ICC arbitration users, NetCase needs to be attuned to their requirements. This implies an ongoing process of adaptation and refinement, which is already in place and will continue to accompany its increasing use.

ICC Court intensifies relations with the judiciary

Although an alternative to court proceedings, arbitration requires the support of courts in order to be fully effective. Cooperation relies above all on mutual understanding and it is for this reason that the International Court of Arbitration lays great emphasis on developing relations with the judiciary in all parts of the world. To this end, it has hosted visits by judges from many countries, including, most recently, China and Thailand. Also, the Chairman of the Court and members of the Secretariat often meets with local judges when travelling abroad. Recent meetings have taken place with judges in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala and Saudia Arabia. These exchanges allow both sides to exchange information on their respective activities and the interaction between State courts and arbitral tribunals. They may bring clarification to such matters as the way in which local courts interpret the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, or local attitudes towards the ordering of provisional measures or the taking of evidence by arbitral tribunals.

The Secretariat also has ongoing cooperation agreements with the judiciary which, for instance, allow it to be kept informed of court decisions relating to ICC arbitration and to receive students from training schools for judges as interns.

Secretariat note on VAT and other taxes applicable to arbitrators' fees

In answer to a wish expressed by a number of arbitrators, members of ICC arbitral tribunals may now entrust ICC with the administration of funds for the payment of VAT or other charges due on their fees and expenses. This new service, which has been in operation since 15 November 2006, offers parties the assurance of having a neutral depository keep the monies until such time as they become payable to the arbitrator(s), and arbitrators the convenience of having an institution administer this financial aspect of the proceedings on their behalf. The Secretariat of the Court has issued a note pursuant to Article 5(2) of Appendix II to the ICC Rules of Arbitration, in which the purpose and functioning of the new service is described. This note is reproduced below.

Note on VAT, taxes, charges and imposts applicable to arbitrators' fees

Principle

According to Article 2(9) of Appendix III to the 1998 Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce relating to arbitration costs and fees:

'Amounts paid to the arbitrator do not include any possible value added taxes (VAT) or other taxes or charges and imposts applicable to the arbitrator's fees. Parties have a duty to pay any such taxes or charges; however, the recovery of any such charges or taxes is a matter solely between the arbitrator and the parties.'

As of 15 November 2006, ICC nonetheless offers arbitrators subject to VAT and other taxes, charges and imposts (hereinafter 'VAT'), who expressly so request in writing, a service allowing them to have the funds corresponding to their estimate of the VAT due on their fees and expenses (hereinafter 'fees') administered by ICC.

his service is totally separate from, and has no effect on, the procedure for paying advances as set out in the ICC Rules of Arbitration. Should the parties fail to pay the VAT on the arbitrators' fees, this cannot be invoked by the arbitrators before the International Court of Arbitration, for instance as a ground for suspending the arbitral proceedings.

When arbitrators take advantage of this service, ICC acts as the 'depositary' of the funds. ICC receives funds from parties who have been instructed to this effect by an arbitrator (chairman of an arbitral tribunal on behalf of the other members of the arbitral tribunal, member of an arbitral tribunal subject to VAT or sole arbitrator subject to VAT), and makes the payments corresponding to the VAT at the request of the arbitrators when the latter bill the parties for their fees.

The initiative of requesting that a VAT account be opened with ICC, of calling advances for the payment of VAT on fees ('VAT advance') and paying arbitrators on the basis of the amounts deposited lies solely with the arbitrators.

This service is available to arbitrators from any country.

The VAT advance is administered in US dollars and does not yield interest for the parties or the arbitrators.

It is the arbitrators' sole responsibility to ensure that the procedure described below complies with the tax law provisions applicable to the exercise of their profession as arbitrator, including the payment of their fees. Arbitrators are particularly encouraged to check the basis on which they should calculate the amount of VAT due.

Procedure

Step 1: Declaration of intention to use the service for depositing VAT advances

Any arbitrator wishing to use this service shall inform the Secretariat in writing and request ICC to act as depositary for the sums paid by the parties as an advance on the VAT due on the arbitrators' fees.

Step 2: Estimation of amounts

The arbitrator determines the amount of VAT on his or her fees in light of the rules that apply at the place where he or she is taxable.

Arbitrators may use the cost calculator on the website of the International Court of Arbitration (www.iccarbitration.org) to estimate the amount of the fees that may be payable. They are however reminded that the proportions in which the total amount of the fees is divided between the members of the arbitral tribunal (40% for the chairman, 30% for each co-arbitrator) are given merely as a guide and may be changed by the Court.

If, in the course of an arbitration, the amount of the advance is increased pursuant to a decision of the Court, this step may be repeated.

Step 3: Disclosure of the estimated amounts of VAT

The arbitrator requests the parties to pay the VAT advance and informs the Secretariat of the substance of this request. If the chairman calls for a VAT advance on behalf of the members of the arbitral tribunal subject to VAT, he or she shall inform the Secretariat of the breakdown of this advance arbitrator-by-arbitrator.

Step 4: Acknowledgement of payments and administration

The Secretariat sends the arbitrator and the parties confirmation that it has received the amounts paid by the parties.

ICC administers the VAT advance on behalf of the arbitrator.

Step 5: Payments to the arbitrator

When drawing up his or her invoice, the arbitrator requests ICC to pay the amount corresponding to the VAT on the fees due by the parties. This applies at the time of the final award, but also in the event that the International Court of Arbitration decides to pay an advance on fees to arbitrators who reside in countries where, under local tax law, VAT becomes payable to the tax authorities when fees are paid in advance.

Payments are made to the arbitrator by ICC on behalf of the parties and within the limits of the VAT advances already provided.

Step 6: Balance of account

At the end of the arbitration proceedings the Secretariat asks the arbitrator to balance the VAT advance. On the basis of the information provided, the Secretariat closes the VAT account and returns to the parties, if such be the case and in accordance with the information provided by the arbitrator, any amounts remaining from the VAT advance deposited with ICC.

After advising the arbitrator, ICC may close the account if no sums remain deposited in it and even if a request by the arbitrator for the payment of a VAT advance has not yet been honoured by the parties.