International Chamber of Commerce published the 2021 ICC Arbitration Rules in December 2020, have entered into force on 1st of January 2021.
Also, the London Court of International Arbitration has made some updates in arbitration rules that came into force on 1st of October 2020.
Changes on the 2021 ICC Rules
- According to Article 7 of the 2021 ICC Rules, a joinder of any additional parties will be decided by the arbitral tribunal following its appointment and constitution. Before this updated rule, a joinder of additional parties was allowed only with the consent of all parties. This is significantly important for diminishing the party autonomy in arbitration proceedings.
- According to Article 11 of the 2021 ICC Rules, parties need to inform the ICC Secretariat and the other parties of the existence and identity of a non-party which has entered into an arrangement for the funding of claims or defenses and has an economic interest in the outcome of the arbitration.
- The ICC Court has an exceptional power which the Court will now be authorized to appoint each member of the arbitral tribunal if necessary, even if the parties agreed on a different method of appointment, in order to ensure the impartiality of the arbitration and to avoid a substantial risk of unequal treatment or unfairness
- Due to the impact of the Covid-19, Article 26 of the 2021 ICC Rules now allows for virtual arbitration hearings upon agreement of the parties or an ex-officio decision by the arbitral tribunal. Also, considering the difficulties of delivering physical copies of communication, physical copies of petitions, and other documents will no longer be required to be delivered unless a party specifically requests transmission by delivery against receipt, registered post or courier.
- According to Article 36, the parties will now be able to apply for an additional award if the arbitral tribunal fails to address any section of the claim in its award. Additionally, the parties may request the ICC Court to communicate the reasoning of its decision provided that this was raised prior to the issuance of the relevant decision.
The 2021 ICC rules are now applicable to any arbitral proceedings. These updates and changes aim to address the challenges in practice of the arbitration proceedings and establishes certain rules intended to increase the efficiency and transparency of arbitration proceedings.
Please do not hesitate to give us a call to get more information about the arbitration proceedings. This will allow your company to have a resolution prior to taking the dispute to the Courts.
