News

Revision to the ICC Rules of Arbitration

01 June 2026

On 1 June 2026, the revised version of the International Chamber of Commerce's Rules of Arbitration ("2026 ICC Rules") entered into force, replacing the 2021 version. This revision is the most substantial since 2012 and seeks to reflect practice by the ICC Court, Secretariat, and tribunals under the 2021 ICC Rules, as well as to streamline the procedure (notably by introducing a highly expedited procedure).

The revised rules apply to all requests for arbitration filed on or after 1 June 2026, with the exception of the increased threshold for the automatic application of the expedited procedures which is applicable only for arbitration agreements concluded on or after 1 June 2026.

There are six main changes to the ICC Rules:

Removal of mandatory Terms of Reference: this undoubtedly constitutes one of the main changes implemented by the ICC. The Terms of Reference were a procedural document established at the outset of the arbitration and were historically a crucial milestone in ICC arbitration, as they served to determine procedural issues and define the scope of the dispute. The ICC explains that the decision to remove the mandatory Terms of Reference builds on the experience of the expedited procedure (in place since 2017), under which Terms of Reference are not mandatory and were rarely drawn up. As a consequence of this choice, greater emphasis will be placed on early case management, with the Case Management Conference (CMC) remaining mandatory within 30 days of the transmission of the file to the Tribunal. It will serve as the cut-off point after which no party may introduce new claims without tribunal authorisation (Article 25), encouraging early case preparation. In addition, the revised rules now provide that the Tribunal shall establish the procedural timetable during or immediately after the CMC (Article 24). Tribunals will, however, retain discretion to draw up Terms of Reference should this be considered necessary. The ICC Secretariat is currently developing a model Procedural Order No. 1 to assist tribunals and parties in recording key elements of the arbitration at the CMC stage, such as identification of the parties, confirmation of jurisdiction, and the applicable law; parties and their counsel should ensure they engage actively in shaping PO1 at this early juncture.
Highly expedited procedure: in addition to the expedited procedure established in 2017, the ICC now introduces Highly Expedited Arbitration Provisions (HEAP). The HEAP will apply exclusively on an opt-in basis and will likely be most suited to less complex disputes, or even specific aspects of a dispute that require swift resolution (such as purchase price adjustments, for instance). There is no threshold amount, and parties can agree to apply HEAP in the arbitration agreement or after the dispute has arisen. These provisions will have distinct procedural features including (i) a 20-day deadline to nominate the sole arbitrator, (ii) a three-month deadline for the sole arbitrator to make the award from the initial CMC, (iii) the possibility for the parties to agree that the award will be without reasons, and (iv) similarly to the expedited procedure, the power for the sole arbitrator to limit the number of submissions or hold no hearing.
Amendments to expedited procedure and emergency arbitration provisions: building on the experience of the expedited procedure (introduced in 2017) and emergency arbitration (introduced in 2012), the ICC has made several adjustments to these two specific sets of rules:
1. Expedited Procedure: the expedited procedure was introduced in 2017 by the ICC for cases with a simpler factual matrix or limited amount in dispute, to streamline the proceedings and reduce arbitration costs. In the 2026 ICC Rules, the ICC has increased the threshold for the automatic application of the expedited procedure from USD 3 million to USD 4 million for claims brought under arbitration agreements concluded on or after 1 June 2026 (Article 1(3) of Appendix V). Given that a significant proportion of ICC cases do not exceed USD 5 million, this increase is likely to capture a substantial number of disputes that exceeded the previous threshold.
2. Emergency arbitration: the emergency arbitration provisions in the ICC Rules (Appendix IV) were introduced in 2012 to allow parties to submit urgent requests to a sole arbitrator appointed by the ICC before an arbitral tribunal has been constituted (Article 31, previously Article 29). The 2026 ICC Rules implement a number of clarifications to these provisions. In particular, they now provide that emergency arbitrator proceedings may be initiated not only against signatories to the arbitration agreement or their successors, but also against “any party for which the President is satisfied, based on the information in the Application, that an arbitration agreement binding such party may exist” (Article 1(2) of Appendix IV). The President is therefore empowered to make a preliminary determination on the possibility that the arbitration agreement may have been transferred or extended to cover additional parties in order to ensure that access to urgent interim relief is not unduly curtailed. However, the ICC specifies that the tribunal will retain the authority to make a final determination on the issue in the main proceedings. In line with current practice, the 2026 ICC Rules also specify that emergency arbitrators may make orders on an ex parte basis and that any order must remain preliminary (Article 7 of Appendix IV). After the order is granted, the emergency arbitrator must immediately hear all other parties and retains the power to modify or revoke the order (Article 7(4) of Appendix IV).
Early determination: the 2026 ICC Rules introduce provisions on early determination (Article 30) which permit tribunals to dispose, at an early stage, of claims or defences that are manifestly without merit or manifestly outside their jurisdiction. These provisions were previously included as guidance in the ICC’s Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals; their promotion into the 2026 ICC Rules may encourage greater use of the mechanism, particularly in disputes involving legal issues only, and/or little or no evidence. Tribunals have broad discretion to decide whether an application for early determination should proceed and how it should be managed. To maximise the potential time and cost savings, parties should make any such applications promptly. The decision may take the form of an order or, where it finally disposes of claims, of an award, which will be scrutinised by the ICC Court.
Arbitrator disclosure: the 2026 ICC Rules reorganise the provisions relating to arbitrator disclosure while maintaining the main standards of independence and impartiality, and introduce limited procedural adjustments to reflect current practice: (i) a requirement that the parties provide a list of related entities and individuals from the outset of the arbitration (Article 12(5)), as well as (ii) a duty on arbitrators to disclose any circumstances in case of doubt (Article 12(2)). The tribunal secretary, whose role is now formally codified, must satisfy the same independence and impartiality requirements as arbitrators (Article 44). The 2026 ICC Rules also clarify, in line with ICC practice, that a “disclosure does not, by itself, establish a lack of independence or impartiality.” (Article 12(4)).
Written communications, time limits for awards, and confidentiality: the 2026 ICC Rules introduce a number of further changes aimed at aligning the Rules with modern practice. Article 3 has been comprehensively rewritten to make electronic communications the default: the Request, Answer, and any Request for Joinder must now be submitted to the Secretariat by electronic means, with hard copies permitted only where a party requests transmission against receipt, registered post, or courier, or where electronic transmission is not practicable. On time limits, Article 34 replaces the previous default six-month deadline (which ran from the Terms of Reference and was rarely followed in practice) with a more flexible approach: the President of the Court now fixes, and may extend, the time limit for the final award based on the procedural timetable or a reasoned request from the tribunal. The distinct time limits under the Expedited Procedure Provisions and the HEAP remain unaffected. Finally, the new Article 12(8) expressly provides that arbitrators must keep confidential all matters relating to the arbitration, subject to limited exceptions (matters in the public domain, party agreement, applicable law, or the protection of legal rights). The 2026 ICC Rules continue to not, however, impose a default confidentiality obligation on the parties themselves, reflecting the diversity of ICC arbitrations, including disputes involving states or matters of public interest where blanket confidentiality may be inappropriate. Parties with specific needs for confidentiality should continue to ensure confidentiality provisions are included in their contracts and in PO1.