Parties who signed a binding arbitration agreement are, in principle, bound by its terms. Once a dispute arises and a claimant commences arbitration proceedings against a respondent, a general assumption is that the parties will cooperate and actively participate in the proceedings. In practice, however, it can happen that the other party, usually the respondent, […]
Interim Measures in International Arbitration: A Need for Irreparable Harm?
It is a well-established rule of international arbitration that arbitral tribunals have the power to grant interim or conservatory measures. This is explicitly provided in all major arbitration rules (see, e.g., Article 28 of the 2017 ICC Rules, Article 25.1 of the 2014 LCIA Rules, Article 26 of the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules, Rule 30 of […]
Publication of ICC Arbitration Awards: 2019 Advancements in Transparency of ICC Arbitration
As most arbitrations are confidential, the publication of ICC arbitration awards has historically been uncommon. In January 2019, however, the ICC International Court of Arbitration adopted changes to its practice that will soon be implemented. In this regard, the ICC released an updated Note to the Parties and Arbitral Tribunals. Its main purposes were to […]
Should an International Arbitration for a Small Claim Even Be Commenced?
Should an international arbitration for a small claim, for instance an amount in dispute of less than USD 50,000, even be commenced? This is a recurring question asked by clients with small claims who wonder if it is worthwhile to commence arbitration proceedings and to incur additional costs in order to recover small amounts. Claimants […]
The Terms of Reference in ICC Arbitration
In ICC arbitration, upon the transmission of the case file by the ICC Secretariat to the arbitral tribunal (Article 16 of the ICC Arbitration Rules), the first task for an arbitral tribunal is to draw up the Terms of Reference. According to Article 23(1) of the ICC Arbitration Rules, the Terms of Reference corresponds to […]