📣📣 The full text of the new 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules has been officially released! Here is a summary of the 16 key changes in the new Rules:
- chenandchang
- May 22
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
1. Written communications
To promote efficiency and environmental sustainability, written communications are to be made by electronic means, unless a party requests confirmation of receipt or delivery of hard copies to effectuate service.
2. Arbitrator independence and impartiality
The new Rules introduce provisions on disclosure: any doubts the prospective arbitrator may have about whether to make a disclosure shall be resolved in favour of disclosure, and the making of a disclosure does not, by itself, establish a lack of independence or impartiality. Additionally, parties must submit a list of persons and entities whom they believe the prospective arbitrators and arbitrators should consider.
3. Confidentiality
While the parties retain the ability to agree the extent to which they wish the arbitration to be confidential, the new Rules explicitly define and clarify the confidentiality obligations of arbitrators.
4. Truncated tribunal
Under the new Rules, if an arbitrator has died or been removed by the ICC Court after the last hearing or the filing of the last substantive submissions (whichever is later), the ICC Court may decide to proceed with a truncated tribunal (i.e. the remaining two members of the tribunal).
5. Terms of Reference: No longer mandatory
Terms of Reference are no longer a necessary step in ICC proceedings under the new Rules. The arbitral tribunal retain the discretion to establish them where appropriate. However, a Case Management Conference (CMC) remains mandatory and must be held within 30 days from the arbitral tribunal receiving the file.
6. Case management techniques removed from Appendix
To ensure that it can be easily updated to reflect evolving practice, the list of case management techniques previously contained in Appendix IV has been removed from the Rules.
7. Early determination
The new Rules introduce an "Early Determination" procedure. This allows a party to apply for an early determination by the arbitral tribunal that one or more claims or defences are manifestly without merit or manifestly outside of the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction.
8. Time limit for the final award
The longstanding default time limit of six months from the last signature of the Terms of Reference has been removed. Instead, the time limit shall be fixed by the President of the ICC Court, taking into account all the circumstances of the case.
9. Signature and Notification of the Award
Under the new Rules, after consulting with the parties and considering all circumstances, the arbitral tribunal may sign the award electronically. They may also request the Secretariat to notify the parties of the award in paper form or electronic format, or any other manner that is permitted by law.
10. Correction of the award
The deadline for an arbitral tribunal to submit a correction on its own initiative has been extended from 30 to 45 days. The tribunal is required to first seek the parties’ comments before making such a correction.
11. Tribunal secretary
A new Article 44 has been added to the revised Rules to codify the rules governing tribunal secretaries. The arbitral tribunal may appoint a secretary to work under the arbitral tribunal’s direction and control, without delegating its decision-making authority. Tribunal secretaries must satisfy the same independence, impartiality, and disclosure requirements applicable to arbitrators.
12. Emergency Arbitration
The new Rules clarify that Emergency Arbitration (EA) proceedings apply not only to the signatories of the arbitration agreement but also to their successors, as well as any party for which the President is satisfied, based on information in the Application, that an arbitration agreement binding such party may exist.
13. Expedited Procedure
The monetary threshold for the automatic application of the Expedited Procedure Provisions (EPP) has been increased from US$3 million to US$4 million.
14. Highly Expedited Arbitration
The new Rules introduce the Highly Expedited Arbitration Provisions (HEAP), a new opt-in procedure for parties who voluntarily agree to it. Under HEAP, the claimant must submit all evidence and legal authorities along with the Request for Arbitration, and the respondent must do the same with the Answer.
Disputes will be resolved by a sole arbitrator, who has the discretion to decide the case solely on documents without holding a hearing. The final award must be rendered within 3 months of the initial CMC, and the parties may agree on an unreasoned award.
15. Fees and costs
A welcome change for users: the ICC administrative expenses have been reduced for disputes valued under US$10 million!
16. Governance
Under the new Rules, Court Members are no longer divided into “Court Members” and “Alternate Court Members.” They are now collectively referred to as "Court Members."
2026 Arbitration Rules: https://reurl.cc/zOzpVN
New ICC Rules of Arbitration enhance efficiency, clarity and usability: https://reurl.cc/3yL6z0
ICC Arbitration Rules 2021 and 2026 compared version: https://reurl.cc/gNmeVb
The New 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules: What It Means for Users: https://reurl.cc/3yL6vj
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