1-1 The International Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC”), which was created in 1919, has been a leader in international dispute resolution for almost a century. Established in 1923, its International Court of Arbitration (the “Court”) pioneered international arbitration throughout the twentieth century, securing its worldwide acceptance as an effective means of resolving international commercial disputes. Today the Court is recognized across the world for the quality of its services and its ability to embrace all cultures and legal traditions. The ICC’s interest in alternative dispute resolution is not confined to arbitration. Many of the early disputes it dealt with were resolved by conciliation. More recently, it has developed a range of complementary dispute resolution services designed to meet the needs of specific situations and industry sectors, which are administered under the auspices of its International Centre for ADR.

1-2 The dispute resolution services developed by the ICC were conceived with international business disputes primarily in mind. However, the ambit of these services has expanded over time to include disputes identified with one jurisdiction only (domestic arbitrations), trust disputes, investor-state disputes and state-to-state disputes. Such disputes pose unique difficulties and challenges. Usually, the parties will be of different nationalities, with different linguistic, legal and cultural backgrounds. They may also have very different expectations about how a dispute can be resolved reasonably and fairly. ICC dispute resolution addresses the challenges to which the conduct of such disputes and disagreements give rise. It offers administered procedures that are flexible, neutral, reliable, comprehensive, and designed to ensure the saving of time and cost.

1-3 The Court has administered over 18,500 cases involving parties and arbitrators from some two hundred countries and territories. Every arbitration is administered in accordance with the ICC Rules of Arbitration (the “Rules”). First promulgated in 1922, these Rules were one of the early achievements of the newly formed world business organization. They were indeed a priority of the ICC’s founders, who had witnessed the ravaging effects of international conflict and were convinced that harmonious international trading relations were a key to world peace. During their ninetyyear history, the Rules have been periodically revised to refine them and keep them attuned to the needs of modern trade and commerce.1The most recent version of the Rules (“2012 Rules”), which came into effect on 1 January 2012 and introduces a number of important changes, forms the subject of

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this book. The revision process leading to the 2012 Rules is described in the preceding preface by Peter Wolrich, Chairman of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, under the auspices of which the revision took place.

1-4 The chief purpose of this book is to provide readers with a helpful and accessible guide to ICC arbitration from the practical perspective of persons involved in its daily operation. It comprises the following chapters:

  • A brief overview of the basic procedural framework common to all ICC arbitrations and of the various steps, from initiation of the proceedings to their end, followed by the Court, its Secretariat, parties and arbitrators. This chapter serves as a map of the 2012 Rules and sets the context for the detailed commentary that follows it.
  • A thorough article-by-article presentation and explanation of the 2012 Rules. This chapter, which constitutes the core of the book, contains detailed references to the practices of the Court and its Secretariat. It provides insight into the application of the Rules and recommendations for parties and arbitrators, whether experienced or coming to ICC arbitration for the first time.
  • An overview of the dispute resolution services offered by the ICC in addition to arbitration. Through its International Centre for ADR, the ICC provides alternative and complementary methods of dispute resolution, including mediation, expertise and dispute boards. Together with arbitration, these services allow the ICC to take a holistic approach to dispute resolution and offer combinations of services to cover a wide range of needs.
  • A presentation of the model dispute resolution clauses recommended by the ICC. Parties can use these model clauses in their contracts to ensure that any disputes are resolved by ICC arbitration or a combination of ICC dispute resolution procedures.
  • A comparative table listing the contents of the 2012 Rules alongside those of their predecessor, the 1998 Rules, and indicating where changes have been made.
  • The full text of the 2012 Rules with their Appendices.

1.5 The central chapter of the book discusses each provision of the Rules one by one, laying particular emphasis on those in the application of which the Court or its Secretariat have a significant role to play. Most Articles are discussed paragraph by paragraph, although certain Articles (e.g. Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, 29, 36 and 37) are dealt with as a whole or in association with other Articles for greater clarity and concision.

1.6 The discussion of each Article is usually divided into the following sections:

  • Purpose. This section introduces the provision and describes its general function within the Rules and the ICC arbitration system.

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  • 2012 modifications. This section describes the substantive changes made in the 2012 Rules and explains their effect on the Rules as a whole. It does not comment on small changes to a provision that have not altered its purpose or application (e.g. minor linguistic improvements, changes to ensure gender-neutrality).
  • Application. The following sections describe how a provision is applied, the practices that have been developed by the Court and its Secretariat for this purpose in the day-to-day monitoring of proceedings and, where appropriate, the practices developed by ICC arbitral tribunals. This section forms the largest part of the discussion of each Article and often includes a discussion of issues related to the provision in question and examples from ICC cases, as well as useful information for parties and arbitrators.

1-7 The authors have been assisted in the preparation of this book by several colleagues. First and foremost, Benjamin Moss, Deputy Counsel at the Secretariat of the Court, played a pivotal role in the initial drafting by coordinating the authors’ contributions and putting forward many ideas and thoughtful suggestions. The authors are also indebted to the lawyers and other staff who worked at the Secretariat at the time the book was being prepared, many of whom provided a sounding board on current practices and offered practical case examples for inclusion in the text. The following deserve special mention: Hannah Tümpel, Manager of the ICC International Centre for ADR, for her assistance with Chapter 4; Virginia Hamilton, Publications Manager, for her meticulous editing and for bringing the book into print; José Ricardo Feris, Deputy Secretary General of the Court, for his insightful remarks; Ashleigh Masson, Deputy Counsel at the Secretariat of the Court, for her careful review of the manuscript; Stéphanie Torkomyan, a lawyer in the Secretariat’s Documentation and Research Centre, for her dedicated research assistance; Jamie Shookman, an intern at the Secretariat, for her help in preparing certain statistics; and Mark Sheehy, a summer law clerk with Clifford Chance, for assisting with proof-reading.

1-8 Notwithstanding the assistance and input received from others, the book remains the work of the authors, who assume full responsibility for its content, including any errors it may contain. It must be emphasized that the book does not and cannot bind the ICC International Court of Arbitration or its Secretariat in any way. It describes practices based on what the Court and its Secretariat have done in the past, and of what was understood to be prevailing practice at the time of completing the manuscript (April 2012). Changes to the practices of the Court and its Secretariat can and do become necessary for a variety of reasons, such as the evolving nature of the Court’s caseload, new demands from users, or simply the reconsideration of practices in light of expanding experience. Moreover, the recent introduction of new Rules of Arbitration makes it likely that the practices of the Court and its Secretariat will further evolve in the next few years.

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1 Revised versions of the Rules appeared in 1927 (with amendments in 1931, 1933, 1939 and 1947), 1955, 1975, 1988 and 1998.