As of 1 January 2021, the new rules of the International Chamber of Commerce ("ICC") have entered into force regarding the conduct of arbitration and case management for the arbitral proceedings submitted to the ICC rules.
The new rules intend to increase transparency and efficiency, by particularly taking into account the increased trend in third-party funding.
The most notable changes in the new rules are as follows:
There is now a more efficient joinder and consolidation regime.
The new rules allow an already constituted tribunal to be able to
join a third party to the proceedings, should pertinent
prerequisites be met. Furthermore, consolidation is now possible
where all of the claims in the arbitrations are made under the same
arbitration agreement(s).
The tribunal may now decide, after consulting the parties, and
on the basis of the relevant facts and circumstances of the case,
that the hearings be conducted remotely by videoconference,
whereby creating considerable efficiency and allowing the
possibility of cutting back costs.
In order to enhance the transparency of the proceedings, the
parties must now notify the Secretariat, the tribunal and the other
party/parties of the dispute if the notifying party
is benefiting from third-party funding.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.