The ICC International Court of Arbitration today issued a warning to negotiators of contracts and legal counsel about the importance of clearly specifying recourse to ICC arbitration in their contracts if they contemplate submitting potential disputes to ICC arbitration.
Parties wishing to benefit from the key features of the ICC Rules of Arbitration, such as scrutiny of draft awards, the monitoring of the case by the ICC Court and its Secretariat, and control of the financial aspects of the case, are advised to make sure that the reference to ICC and the ICC Rules of Arbitration in their contract is not ambiguous.
Only the ICC Court can administer proceedings under the ICC Rules of Arbitration. Accordingly, parties should not use arbitration clauses which indicate that the proceedings will be conducted under the ICC Rules administered by an institution other than ICC.
The Chairman of the ICC Court, Dr Robert Briner, said: “A clear reference in contracts to the ICC Rules of Arbitration and administration of the arbitral proceedings by the ICC International Court of Arbitration is the way to ensure that the parties’ choice of ICC’s proven and trusted dispute resolution system will be respected.”
ICC international Court of Arbitration