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Commercial Arbitration and
Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods

International Chamber of Commerce 

International Court of Arbitration Rules of Arbitration


APPENDIX I
STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COURT OF ARBITRATION OF THE ICC

 

Article 1 : Function

1. The function of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (the "Court") is to ensure the application of the Rules of Arbitration and the Rules of Conciliation of the International Chamber of Commerce, and it has all the necessary powers for that purpose.

2. As an autonomous body, it carries out these functions in complete independence from the ICC and its organs.

3. Its members are independent from the ICC National Committees.


Article 2 : Composition of the Court

The Court shall consist of a Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, and members and alternate members (collectively designated as members). In its work it is assisted by its Secretariat (Secretariat of the Court).


Article 3 : Appointment

1. The Chairman is elected by the ICC Council upon recommendation of the Executive Board of the ICC.

2. The ICC Council appoints the Vice-Chairmen of the Court from among the members of the Court or otherwise.

3. Its members are appointed by the ICC Council on the proposal of National Committees, one member for each Committee.

4. On the proposal of the Chairman of the Court, the Council may appoint alternate members.

5. The term of office of all members is three years. If a member is no longer in a position to exercise his functions, his successor is appointed by the Council for the remainder of the term.


Article 4: Plenary Session of the Court

The Plenary Sessions of the Court are presided over by the Chairman, or, in his absence, by one of the Vice-Chairmen designated by him. The deliberations shall be valid when at least six members are present. Decisions are taken by a majority vote, the Chairman having a casting vote in the event of a tie.


Article 5 : Committees

The Court may set up one or more Committees and establish the functions and organization of such Committees.


Article 6 : Confidentiality

The work of the Court is of a confidential nature which must be respected by everyone who participates in that work in whatever capacity. The Court lays down the rules regarding the persons who can attend the meetings of the Court and its Committees and who are entitled to have access to the materials submitted to the Court and its Secretariat.


Article 7 : Modification of the Rules of Arbitration

Any proposal of the Court for a modification of the Rules is laid before the Commission on International Arbitration before submission to the Executive Board and the Council of the ICC for approval.

 

APPENDIX II
INTERNAL RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COURT OF ARBITRATION OF THE ICC


Article 1 : Confidential Character of the Work of the International Court of Arbitration

1. The sessions of the Court, whether plenary or those of a Committee of the Court, are open only to its members and to the Secretariat.

2. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Chairman of the Court may invite other persons to attend. Such persons must respect the confidential nature of the work of the Court.

3. The documents submitted to the Court, or drawn up by it in the course of its proceedings, are communicated only to the members of the Court and to the Secretariat and to persons authorized by the Chairman to attend Court sessions.

4. The Chairman or the Secretary General of the Court may authorize researchers undertaking work of a scientific nature on international trade law to acquaint themselves with awards and other documents of general interest, with the exception of memoranda, notes, statements and documents remitted by the parties within the framework of arbitration proceedings.

5. Such authorization shall not be given unless the beneficiary has undertaken to respect the confidential character of the documents made available and to refrain from any publication in their respect without having previously submitted the text for approval to the Secretary General of the Court.

6. The Secretariat will in each case submitted to arbitration under the Rules retain in the archives of the Court all awards, terms of reference, and decisions of the Court as well as copies of the pertinent correspondence of the Secretariat.

7. Any documents, communications or correspondence submitted by the parties or the arbitrators may be destroyed unless a party or an arbitrator requests in writing within a period fixed by the Secretariat the return of such documents. All related costs and expenses for the return of those documents shall be paid by such party or arbitrator.


Article 2 : Participation of Members of the International Court of Arbitration in ICC Arbitration

1. The Chairman and the members of the Secretariat of the Court may not act as arbitrators or as counsel in cases submitted to ICC arbitration.

2. The Court shall not appoint Vice-Chairmen or members of the Court as arbitrators. They may, however, be proposed for such duties by one or more of the parties, or, pursuant to any other procedure agreed upon by the parties, subject to confirmation.

3. When the Chairman, a Vice-Chairman or a member of the Court or of the Secretariat is involved in any capacity whatsoever in proceedings pending before the Court, such person must inform the Secretary General of the Court upon becoming aware of such involvement.

4. Such person must refrain from participating in the discussions or in the decisions of the Court concerning the proceedings and must be absent from the courtroom whenever the matter is considered.

5. Such person will not receive any material documentation or information pertaining to such proceedings.


Article 3 : Relations between the Members of the Court and the ICC National Committees

1. By virtue of their capacity, the members of the Court are independent of the ICC National Committees which proposed them for appointment by the ICC Council.

2. Furthermore, they must regard as confidential, vis-à-vis the said National Committees, any information concerning individual cases with which they have become acquainted in their capacity as members of the Court, except when they have been requested by the Chairman of the Court or by its Secretary General to communicate specific information to their respective National Committee.


Article 4 : Committee of the Court

1. In accordance with the provisions of Article 1 (4) of the Rules and Article 5 of its Statutes (Appendix I), the Court hereby establishes a Committee of the Court.

2. The members of the Committee consist of a Chairman and at least two other members. The Chairman of the Court acts as the Chairman of the Committee. If absent, the Chairman may designate a Vice-Chairman of the Court or, in exceptional circumstances, another member of the Court as Chairman of the Committee.

3. The other two members of the Committee are appointed by the Court from among the Vice-Chairmen or the other members of the Court. At each Plenary Session the Court appoints the members who are to attend the meetings of the Committee to be held before the next Plenary Session.

4. The Committee meets when convened by its Chairman. Two members constitute a quorum.

5. 

(a) The Court shall determine the decisions that may be taken by the Committee.
(b) The decisions of the Committee are taken unanimously.
(c) When the Committee cannot reach a decision or deems it preferable to abstain, it transfers the case to the next Plenary Session, making any suggestions it deems appropriate.
(d) The Committee's decisions are brought to the notice of the Court at its next Plenary Session.


Article 5 : Court Secretariat

1. In case of absence, the Secretary General may delegate to the General Counsel and Deputy Secretary General the authority to confirm arbitrators, to certify true copies of awards and to request the payment of a provisional advance, respectively provided for in Articles 9(2), 28(2) and 30(1) of the Rules.

2. The Secretariat may, with the approval of the Court, issue notes and other documents for the information of the parties and the arbitrators, or as necessary for the proper conduct of the arbitral proceedings.


Article 6 : Scrutiny of Arbitral Awards

When the Court scrutinizes draft awards in accordance with Article 27 of the Rules, it considers, to the extent practicable, the requirements of mandatory law at the place of arbitration.

 

APPENDIX III
ARBITRATION COSTS AND FEES


Article 1 : Advance on Costs

1. Each request to commence an arbitration pursuant to the Rules must be accompanied by an advance payment of US $ 2500 on the administrative expenses. Such payment is nonrefundable, and shall be credited to the Claimant's portion of the advance on costs.

2. The provisional advance fixed by the Secretary General according to Article 30(1) of the Rules shall normally not exceed the amount obtained by adding together the administrative expenses, the minimum of the fees (as set out in the scale hereinafter) based upon the amount of the claim and the expected reimbursable expenses of the Arbitral Tribunal incurred with respect to the drafting of the Terms of Reference. If such amount is not quantified, the provisional advance shall be fixed at the discretion of the Secretary General. Payment by the Claimant shall be credited to its share of the advance on costs fixed by the Court.

3. In general, after the Terms of Reference have been signed or approved by the Court and the provisional timetable has been established, the Arbitral Tribunal shall, in accordance with Article 30(4) of the Rules, proceed only with respect to those claims or counterclaims in regard to which the whole of the advance on costs has been paid.

4. The advance on costs fixed by the Court according to Article 30(2) of the Rules comprises the fees of the arbitrator or arbitrators (hereinafter referred to as "arbitrator"), any arbitration-related expenses of the arbitrator and the administrative expenses.

5. Each party shall pay in cash its share of the total advance on costs. However, if its share exceeds an amount fixed from time to time by the Court, a party may post a bank guarantee for this additional amount.

6. A party that has already paid in full its share of the advance on costs fixed by the Court may, in accordance with Article 30(3) of the Rules, pay the unpaid portion of the advance owed by the defaulting party by posting a bank guarantee.

7. When the Court has fixed separate advances on costs pursuant to Article 30(2) of the Rules, the Secretariat shall invite each party to pay the amount of the advance corresponding to its respective claims.

8. When, as a result of the fixing of separate advances on costs, the separate advance fixed for the claim of either party exceeds one-half of such global advance as was previously fixed (in respect of the same claims and counterclaims that are the object of separate advances), a bank guarantee may be posted to cover any such excess amount. In the event that the amount of the separate advance is subsequently increased, at least one-half of the increase shall be paid in cash.

9. The Secretariat shall establish the terms governing all bank guarantees which the parties may post pursuant to the above provisions.

10. As provided in Article 30(2) of the Rules, the advance on costs may be subject to readjustment at any time during the arbitration, in particular to take into account fluctuations in the amount in dispute, changes in the amount of the estimated expenses of the arbitrator, or the evolving difficulty or complexity of arbitration proceedings.

11. Before any expertise ordered by the Arbitral Tribunal can be commenced, the parties, or one of them, shall pay an advance on costs fixed by the Arbitral Tribunal sufficient to cover the expected fees and expenses of the expert as determined by the Arbitral Tribunal. The Arbitral Tribunal shall be responsible for ensuring the payment by the parties of such fees and expenses.


Article 2 : Costs and Fees

1. Subject to Article 31(2) of the Rules, the Court shall fix the fees of the arbitrator in accordance with the scale hereinafter set out, or, where the sum in dispute is not stated, at its discretion.

2. In setting the arbitrator's fees, the Court shall take into consideration the diligence of the arbitrator, the time spent, the rapidity of the proceedings, and the complexity of the dispute so as to arrive at a figure within the limits specified, or, in exceptional circumstances (Article 31(2) of the Rules), at a figure higher or lower than those limits.

3. When a case is submitted to more than one arbitrator, the Court, at its discretion, shall have the right to increase the total fees up to a maximum which shall normally not exceed three times the fees of one arbitrator.

4. The arbitrator's fees and expenses shall be fixed exclusively by the Court as required by the Rules. Separate fee arrangements between the parties and the arbitrator are contrary to the Rules.

5. The Court shall fix the administrative expenses of each arbitration in accordance with the scale hereinafter set out, or, where the sum in dispute is not stated, at its discretion. In exceptional circumstances, the Court may fix the administrative expenses at a lower or higher figure than that which would result from the application of such scale, provided that such expenses shall normally not exceed the maximum amount of the scale. Further, the Court may require the payment of administrative expenses in addition to those provided in the scale of administrative expenses as a condition to holding an arbitration in abeyance at the request of the parties or of one of them with the acquiescence of the other.

6. If an arbitration terminates before the rendering of a final Award, the Court shall fix the costs of the arbitration at its discretion, taking into account the stage attained by the arbitral proceedings and any other relevant circumstances.

7. In the case of an application under Article 29(2) of the Rules, the Court may fix an advance to cover additional fees and expenses of the Arbitral Tribunal and may subordinate the transmission of such application to the Arbitral Tribunal to the prior cash payment in full to the ICC of such advance. The Court shall fix at its discretion any possible fees of the arbitrator when approving the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal.

8. When an arbitration is preceded by attempted conciliation, one-half of the administrative expenses paid for such conciliation shall be credited to the administrative expenses of the arbitration.

9. 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 are expected 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.


Article 3: Appointments of Arbitrators

1. A registration fee normally not exceeding US $ 2500 is payable by the requesting party in respect of each request made to the ICC to appoint an arbitrator for any arbitration not conducted under the Rules. No request for appointment of an arbitrator will be considered unless accompanied by the said fee, which is not recoverable and becomes the property of the ICC.

2. The said fee shall cover any additional services rendered by the ICC regarding the appointment, such as decisions on a challenge of an arbitrator and the appointment of a substitute arbitrator.


Article 4 : Scales of Administrative Expenses and Arbitrator's Fees

1. The Scales of Administrative Expenses and Arbitrator's Fees set forth below shall be effective as of 1 January 1998 in respect of all arbitrations commenced on or after such date, irrespective of the version of the Rules applying to such arbitrations.

2. To calculate the administrative expenses and the arbitrator's fees, the amounts calculated for each successive slice of the sum in dispute must be added together, except that where the sum in dispute is over US $ 80 million, a flat amount of US $ 75 800 shall constitute the entirety of the administrative expenses.

 

A. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

Sum in dispute (in US Dollars)
Administrative expenses(*)
up to 50 000
$ 2500
from 50 001 to 100 000
3.50%
from 100 001 to 500 000>
1.70%
from 500 001 to 1 000 000
1.15%
from 1 000 001 to 2 000 000
0.60%
from 2 000 001 to 5 000 000
0.20%
from 5 000 001 to 10 000 000
0.10%
from 10 000 001 to 50 000 000
0.06%
from 50 000 001 to 80 000 000
0.06%
over 80 000 000
$ 75 800

(*) For illustrative purposes only, the table on the following page indicates the resulting administrative expenses in US $ when the proper calculations have been made.

 

B. ARBITRATOR'S FEES

Sum in dispute (in US Dollars)
Fees(**)
 
minimum
maximum
up to 50 000
$ 2500
17.00%
from 50 001 to 100 000
2.00%
11.00%
from 100 001 to 500 000
1.00%
5.50%
from 500 001 to 1 000 000
0.75%
3.50%
from 1 000 001 to 2 000 000
0.50%
2.50%
from 2 000 001 to 5 000 000
0.25%
1.00%
from 5 000 001 to 10 000 000
0.10%
0.55%
from 10 000 001 to 50 000 000
0.05%
0.17%
from 50 000 001 to 80 000 000
0.03%
0.12%
from 80 000 001 to 100 000 000
0.02%
0.10%
over 100 000 000
0.01%
0.05%

(**) For illustrative purposes only, the table on the following page indicates the resulting range of fees when the proper calculations have been made.

 

SUM IN DISPUTE
(in US Dollars)

A. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES(*)
(in US Dollars)

up to 50 000 2500
from 50 001 to 100 000 2500 + 3.50% of amt. over 50 000
from 100 001 to 500 000 4250 + 1.70% of amt. over 100 000
from 500 001 to 1 000 000 11 050 + 1.15% of amt. over 500 000
from 1 000 001 to 2 000 000 16 800 + 0.60% of amt. over 1 000 000
from 2 000 001 to 5 000 000 22 800 + 0.20% of amt. over 2 000 000
from 5 000 001 to 10 000 000 28 800 + 0.10% of amt. over 5 000 000
from 10 000 001 to 50 000 000 33 800 + 0.06% of amt. over 10 000 000
from 50 000 001 to 80 000 000 57 800 + 0.06% of amt. over 50 000 000
from 80 000 001 to 100 000 000 75 800
over 100 000 000 75 800

(*) See preceding page.

SUM IN DISPUTE
(in US Dollars)

B. ARBITRATOR'S FEES(**)
(in US Dollars)

 
Minimum
Maximum
up to 50 000 2500 17.00% of amount in dispute
from 50 001 to
100 000
2500 + 2.00% of amt.
over 50 000
8500 + 11.00% of amt.
over 50 000
from 100 001 to
500 000
3500 + 1.00% of amt.
over 100 000
14 000 + 5.50% of amt.
over 100 000
from 500 001 to
1 000 000
7500+ 0.75% of amt.
over 500 000
36 000 + 3.50% of amt.
over 500 000
from 1 000 001 to
2 000 000
11 250 + 0.50% of amt.
over 1 000 000
53 500 + 2.50% of amt.
over 1 000 000
from 2 000 001 to
5 000 000
16 250 + 0.25% of amt.
over 2 000 000
78 500 + 1.00% of amt.
over 2 000 000
from 5 000 001 to
10 000 000
23 750 + 0.10% of amt.
over 5 000 000
108 500 + 0.55% of amt.
over 5 000 000
from 10 000 001 to
50 000 000
28 750 + 0.05% of amt.
over 10 000 000
136 000 + 0.17% of amt.
over 10 000 000
from 50 000 001 to
80 000 000
48 750 + 0.03% of amt.
over 50 000 000
204 000 + 0.12% of amt.
over 50 000 000
from 80 000 001 to
100 000 000
57 750 + 0.02% of amt.
over 80 000 000
240 000+ 0.10% of amt.
over 80 000 000
over 100 000 000 61 750 + 0.01% of amt.
over 100 000 000
260 000 + 0.05% of amt.
over 100 000 000

(**) See preceding page.