How an ICC case moves
An ICC arbitration begins when the claimant files a Request for Arbitration with the Secretariat, and the respondent then submits an Answer, which may include counterclaims. The tribunal is constituted under the ICC Rules, with the parties typically nominating arbitrators and the ICC Court confirming or appointing them. Early in the case the tribunal and the parties draw up Terms of Reference, a document that frames the claims and issues, and hold a case management conference to set a procedural timetable. Before the final award is issued, the ICC Court scrutinizes the draft, may require changes of form, and may draw the tribunal's attention to points of substance. The ICC is based in Paris, but the seat of an ICC arbitration can be New York, Seoul, Singapore, or wherever the parties agreed.
Costs and the advance
The ICC Court fixes an advance on costs to cover the arbitrators' fees and the ICC's administrative expenses, and it is usually payable in equal shares by claimant and respondent. If one side refuses to pay its share, the other may have to cover it to keep the case moving, a budgeting point worth knowing at the start. Each party also pays its own lawyers as the case proceeds, and the tribunal can decide at the end how costs are allocated between the sides. For smaller disputes, the Rules provide an expedited procedure that can apply unless the parties opted out, and an emergency arbitrator is available for urgent interim relief before the tribunal is formed.
Readying an ICC filing
A Request for Arbitration is more than a notice. The Rules expect it to describe the dispute and the relief sought, and it often frames how the tribunal first sees the case. We review the clause for the seat, the language, the number of arbitrators, and any steps that must come first, and we look at whether related contracts point to different forums. We also discuss who might serve as your party-nominated arbitrator and how to check for conflicts. Before filing, we map where the counterparty holds assets, because an award's value depends on whether it can be enforced there. If you are the respondent, the time to answer is short, although extensions are commonly requested, so it helps to contact counsel as soon as the Request arrives.
