This issue completes the Bulletin's second decade. Founded in 1990 by former Chairman and now Honorary Chairman of the Court, Alain Plantey, the Bulletin has always sought to keep apace with developments in international arbitration and business at large, so as to provide its readers with up-to-date and relevant information. Pursuing this aim, the present issue covers two topics currently at the centre of much attention.

The first is the choice of arbitrators and the exercise of their duties. Although this is not a new subject for the Bulletin, its importance and topicality justifies a revisit to keep readers informed of the Court's practice in relation to the appointment and confirmation of arbitrators at the time of constituting the arbitral tribunal, and the challenge, removal and replacement of arbitrators during the ensuing proceedings. In our presentation of examples from recent ICC cases, Simon Greenberg and I also discuss disclosure obligations relating to independence and availability and recent measures taken by the Court to encourage greater transparency and efficiency in this field. An accompanying appendix by Simon Greenberg and José Ricardo Feris analyses the extent to which the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration have been referred to in ICC cases when deciding on challenges and objections to the confirmation of arbitrators.

The second topic concerns the energy industry but may well be of relevance to other sectors too. It is the question of price clauses in contracts that typically extend over many years, entail a large degree of risk and are prone to vagaries. The extracts from ICC awards published in this issue illustrate some of the problems that may arise and how they have been handled by ICC arbitral tribunals. By way of introduction to these decisions, energy specialist Guy Block presents the different kinds of clauses relating to price changes commonly found in long-term energy contracts and draws some practical lessons for both contract drafters and arbitrators from the cases discussed.

The importance of keeping arbitration relevant and responsive to the needs of its users is also stressed by Andrew Clarke in a paper presenting the expectations of a corporate counsel eager to see international arbitration lose none of its strengths and appeal.

Lastly, the Bulletin pays tribute to Robert Briner, who sadly passed away at the end of 2009. As successor to Alain Plantey at the helm of the ICC Court, Robert Briner not only steered ICC arbitration very ably for almost ten years but also, through his leadership and encouragement, gave the impetus that has taken the Bulletin successfully through its second decade.

Jason Fry

Secretary General

International Court of Arbitration