Claudia’s Speech on “An Empty Seat at the Table: International Arbitration with Non-Participating Parties”
- chenandchang
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
Ms Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, delivered a speech at Berkeley Law on 9 April 2026, titled “An Empty Seat at the Table: International Arbitration with Non-Participating Parties.”
She noted that:
Among “final awards issued under the ICC rules between 2020 and 2025, …nearly 1 in 6 cases involved non-participating parties – that’s almost 17%”
“Among expedited arbitration cases – those primarily involve lower value disputes –that is, less than US$ 2 million until 2021 and less than US$3 million since then – we found that between 25% and 35% of the cases involved non-participating parties.”
Ms Salomon explored the following five critical questions:
1. Can an arbitration proceed with only one participating party?
2. Why is default judgment available against a non-participating party in litigation, but a default award is not available in arbitration?
3. What steps are required to ensure the non-participating party has been notified of the proceedings and has an opportunity to present its case?
4. What steps are required for the arbitral tribunal to assess whether the claim is grounded in fact and law?
5. Should a non-participating party be entitled to subsequently challenge the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal – despite its absence from the proceedings?
The full speech is available at:
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