ICC Dispute Resolution Services

Disputes are inevitable part of the business, especially in today’s globalised economy, where international commercial disputes have become a commonplace. Since dealing efficiently with disputes is vital for economic growth, trade and development, the ICC provides all individuals, businesses, states, state entities and international organisations with a unique system of dispute resolution.

ICC is widely considered the leading provider of dispute resolution services, constituting an alternative to litigation, under the auspices of its two main bodies:

• The ICC International Court of Arbitration; and
• The ICC International Centre for ADR.

The ICC International Court of Arbitration is the most commonly chosen arbitral institution among all arbitral institutions administrating international commercial disputes worldwide. Since 2009, the Court has received new cases at a rate of more than 750 a year. In 2015 the Court recorded the second highest number of cases in its 93-year old history – with 801 requests for arbitration filed. The total number of cases administered by the ICC since the Court’s creation in 1923 stands at over 22 000.

The Court - which consist of over 100 prominent arbitration practitioners worldwide - confirms, appoints and replaces arbitrators, as well as decides on challenges made against them. It also supervises the arbitral process to ensure it is efficient and objective, and performs the scrutiny of arbitral awards – approving the drafts of arbitral awards, primarily to ensure their quality and enforceability.

Currently, the Polish member of the Court is Tomasz Wardyński (Wardyński & Partners) and Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz (Gessel) is an alternate member.

The Court is supported by an extensive Secretariat – consisting of over 80 highly specialised lawyers of various nationalities, grouped within 9 teams: in Paris, Hong-Kong and New York. Official languages of the Court are English and French, yet proceedings are administered in many languages as the Secretariat’s personnel speaks over 30 languages, including Polish.

ICC offers not only a comprehensive administration of arbitration proceedings, including the emergency arbitration proceedings, but also acts as an arbitrators’ appointing authority in ad hoc arbitration proceedings and can assist the parties in the Pre-Arbitral Referee procedure.

These above features make the ICC International Court of Arbitration a unique institution on a global scale, guaranteeing the highest quality of the dispute resolution processes and securing the ICC’s position as a global leader in the field.

The ICC International Centre for ADR acts with a goal of ensuring a holistic system of dispute resolution, providing services complimentary to arbitration.

The Centre has developed a full range of services for the development of international commerce based on:

• the ICC Mediation Rules – providing mediation and other forms of amicable dispute resolution using a neutral facilitator who helps the parties reach a negotiated settlement of their dispute. The mediation process is flexible and consensual, which means that the parties have control over the process itself and the decision to settle as well as the terms of any settlement agreement, which is contractually binding and widely enforceable.
• the ICC Rules for Expertise – sourcing specialist experts to provide independent opinions on various technical, financial and legal matters. Experts may act as witnesses, solve differences and help ensure contracts are properly performed. Experts can also serve as neutrals, e.g. mediators.;
• the ICC Dispute Board Rules – setting up and running dispute adjudication boards (DAB) and dispute review boards (DRB) or combined boards. Dispute boards are permanent panels established to accompany the performance of a contract and help avoid or overcome differences and disputes arising during the course of its performance.;
• the DOCDEX Rules for the settlement of disputes arising out of the use of documentary instruments – providing decisions by an expert three-member panel on trade finance instruments, such as documentary credits or other trade finance instrument, in particular governed by ICC banking rules.