A new Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) was elected today at the meeting of ICC's World Council, which brought together more than 130 business members from 57 countries around the world. The World Council met on the occasion of ICC's World Business Summit in Stockholm.

John Beechey elected Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration  

John Beechey is a UK national and a Partner at the law firm of Clifford Chance, where he is the Head of International Arbitration Practice. He has extensive international arbitration and dispute resolution experience, having served on numerous occasions in ICC cases as counsel and arbitrator. He is highly respected in the international legal and business community for both his legal and business skills.

Mr Beechey has also served as a Member of the Council of the ICC World Business Institute for 10 years and as a Member of the ICC UK’s Arbitration Group for some 15 years. He will assume the functions of Chairman of the ICC Court from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2012.

"It is a great honour to be invited to assume the Chairmanship of the ICC International Court of Arbitration,” said Mr Beechey. “I am very grateful to the selection committee, the Executive Board and the World Council of the ICC for the confidence that they have placed in me." 

Guy Sebban, ICC Secretary General, said: “Thanks to the excellent reputation of the ICC Court, its long experience and the high quality of the work performed by the people within the Court, we were able to attract a large pool of highly qualified candidates. I am convinced that John Beechey will contribute to the realization of our strategic business plan and to the success of our organization.”

Jason Fry, Secretary General of the ICC Court, said: “I have known John for many years. He is very professional in his approach and will help us achieve our goal of delivering a service of uncompromising quality. Most importantly, I know John is someone with whom I can work with very effectively. We are both sensitive to the need to ensure that the common and civil law perspectives remain balanced within the ICC Court and we will work hard to achieve that aim.”

Members of the ICC Court responded very positively to the news that Mr Beechey had been elected Chairman of the ICC Court.

“John Beechey is an excellent choice. He knows the world of arbitration and its challenges perfectly well and will lead the ICC International Court of Arbitration through with efficiency and vision,” said Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, Partner, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler and Professor of Private International Law at the University of Geneva.

Jan Paulsson, Head of the International Arbitration Group of Freshfields and President, World Bank Administrative Tribunal, said: "Arbitration practitioners who have had the advantage of working with him over the past three decades know John Beechey to be not only an insightful and dynamic professional, but also a man of genuine international perspective and uncompromising commitment to fairness to all parties, irrespective of cultural or geographical origins.”

“ICC is fortunate to have had so many outstanding candidates, and even more fortunate that its selection committee has made such an inspired choice,” added Mr Paulsson, who is also President of the London Court of International Arbitration.

Carl Salans elected “interim” Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration

Carl Salans was also elected today by ICC’s World Council to serve as the Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008.

Mr Salans has been a Member of the ICC Court since 2000 and a Vice-Chairman of the ICC Court since 2003. In 1978, he co-founded the Salans law firm in Paris, which now has over 700 lawyers in 20 countries around the world and a very active international arbitration practice.

“I view my role as “interim” Chairman as preparing for a smooth transition to the Chairmanship of John Beechey and to ensuring that during this interim period, the ICC Court continues to function at its usual high level,” said Mr Salans. “I personally think that John Beechey will be an excellent Chairman. He is highly qualified and experienced and has all the right skills to make a good Chairman.”

Following the resignation of Pierre Tercier, current Chairman of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, who will step down on 30 June, the ICC Chairmanship instituted a process for finding his replacement.

A selection committee was formed which included voting members familiar with international arbitration. The selection committee was chaired by Peter Wolrich, Chairman of the ICC Commission on Arbitration. The six other voting members were: Ahmed El-Kosheri, Senior Partner, Kosheri, Rashed & Riad and   Vice-Chair, ICC International Court of Arbitration;   Alan Redfern, Barrister, One Essex Court-Chambers of Lord Grabiner QC and   Vice-Chair, ICC Court;   Carl Salans; Claus von Wobeser, Managing Partner, Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C. and Vice-Chairmen of the ICC Court; Michael Bühler, Partner, Jones Day and Member of the ICC Court; and Serge Lazareff, Chairman, ICC Institute of World Business Law.

The selection committee also included two non-voting members of the ICC Executive Board’s Nominations Committee: Victor Fung, ICC Vice-Chairman and Guy Sebban, ICC Secretary General. The selection committee was assisted by two Secretaries, Emmanuel Jolivet, as both General Counsel of the ICC Court and Deputy Director for ICC Dispute Resolution Services, and Daniel Tournier of Egon Zehnder International.

After evaluating all applications received and interviewing the top candidates, the voting members of the selection committee deliberated and then voted by secret ballot. The elected candidate was John Beechey. Accordingly, the selection committee recommended him as candidate for the Chairmanship of the ICC Court to the ICC Executive Board’s Nominations Committee. The Executive Board then recommended him to the ICC World Council for election.