This week the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) announced two new policies aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency in ICC arbitration proceedings.

The first policy relates to the publication of information about ICC cases. For cases registered from 1 January 2016, the ICC Court will now publish information on its website including the name and nationality of the sitting arbitrators, details of which arbitrator is the chairperson and details of whether the appointment was made by the ICC Court or by the parties. The parties will have the option to opt out of this limited disclosure by mutual agreement.

The second policy relates to clearer information on the cost consequences for arbitrators for unjustified delays in submitting draft arbitration awards to the Court. The new policy states that the ICC Court expects draft arbitration awards to be submitted to the Court within 3 months of the last substantive hearing, or if later, the filing of the last written submissions (excluding any submissions on costs). This timeframe is reduced to 2 months for cases heard by sole arbitrators. If the draft arbitration award is not submitted to the Court within these timeframes the arbitrators’ fees may be reduced, unless the delay is justified to the satisfaction of the ICC Court. The ICC Court also has the power to increase an arbitrator’s fees where arbitrations are conducted expeditiously.

These new policies are aimed at improving transparency and efficiency within arbitration proceedings. The publication of information about sitting arbitrators should also act as an incentive to encourage greater diversity in appointments.

The Litigation Team at Druces LLP has experience of handling all types of arbitration, including ICC arbitration proceedings. If you require any further information about these new policies or arbitration proceedings generally, please contact our team by email at enquiries@druces.com.

This briefing was posted on 15 January 2016.