The 2012 amendments to the ICC Rules of Arbitration (“ICC Rules 2012“) came into effect on 1 January 2012 and essentially codify the best practices that have been developed by the ICC Secretariat over the years.

One notable change involves increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the arbitration process. Article 21 extorts both tribunal and parties to “make every effort to conduct the arbitration in an expeditious and cost-effective manner“. A new Appendix IV was inserted into the ICC Rules 2012 setting out a series of case management techniques that can be used “for controlling time and cost“.

Some other noteworthy changes include:

• new emergency arbitrator provisions (an issue that we had discussed in the context of the SIAC Rules);
• new provisions on multiple parties and multiple contracts – these provisions allow a party to request that an additional party be joined to the arbitration and to have a single arbitration resolve claims arising out of or in connection with more than one contract. They also expand the ICC’s powers of consolidation of arbitrations;
• arbitrators have to declare not just their independence but also their impartiality to the parties involved; and
• challenges to the jurisdiction of the tribunal will be addressed by the tribunal unless the ICC Secretary General refers the matter to the ICC International Court of Arbitration (“the Court“).

The ICC has recently released “The Secretariat’s Guide to ICC Arbitration” which is written by present and former senior members of the Secretariat of the Court.

As with the previous Guide, we are certain that this rule-by-rule commentary on the ICC Rules 2012 will provide invaluable guidance to users of ICC arbitration. The authors of the Guide were not only involved in the drafting of new rules, but also have intimate knowledge of the practice of the ICC itself owing to their daily work within the Court and the Secretariat itself.