The Impact of the 2012 International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules on Multiparty and Multicontract Disputes

The maximum number of parties involved in an ICC arbitration is at least 141, which is the number of parties to an ICC arbitration initiated by 44 member firms of Arthur Andersen’s Business Unit against 97 members firms of Andersen’s Consultant Business Unit. There, the sole arbitrator ruled that he had jurisdiction over all 141 parties, a decision which was subsequently upheld when challenged before Swiss courts. While an arbitration with 141  parties is exceptional, multiparty and multicontract arbitrations have become commonplace, a fact that was taken into account in the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration. The impact of the 2012 ICC Rules on multiparty and multicontract disputes was therefore recently the topic of a presentation I gave with Benoit Le Bars and Romilly Holland, of the Paris arbitration boutique Lazareff Le Bars. For a complimentary outline of this presentation, please see: Complex Arbitrations – Multiparty and Multicontract Disputes.