Partner London
"It is clear that timeliness and efficiency are of ever greater importance for international arbitration."
With almost 900 new cases filed under the ICC Arbitration Rules in 2025 and a record-breaking 1,869 cases ongoing,² it is clear that timeliness and efficiency are of ever greater importance for international arbitration. The ICC is responding to an increasing global demand for a dispute resolution mechanism that can deploy both the flexibility required for complex international commercial requirements alongside ease of cross-border enforcement, efficiency and usability.
Expedited Procedure (Article 32 and Appendix V)
A recent international arbitration survey reported that, for 2025, when asked what processes would most improve efficiency, 50% of respondents selected “Expedited or express arbitration procedures” and 49% selected “Early determination procedures for manifestly unmeritorious claims or defences”.³
Though the framework of the Expedited Procedure remains unchanged, the claim value threshold has been increased once again and now stands at US$4m.⁴ In 2025, over 40% of the ICC’s cases did not exceed this threshold,⁵ meaning the Expedited Procedure will apply by default to almost half of claims (assuming that future references exhibit a similar distribution).
Among the provisions included in the Expedited Procedure are the use of a sole arbitrator, the reduction in administrative fees, a more streamlined timetable and the requirement for the tribunal to render its award within six months of the initial Case Management Conference. As claims eligible for the Expedited Procedure involve higher sums than under the 2021 Rules and correspondingly, turn on more complex facts and technical issues, a key issue for tribunals will be to strike the appropriate balance between administrative efficiency and avoiding suggestions of procedural irregularity.
Highly Expedited Procedure (Article 33 and Appendix VI)
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"This procedure generates a binding and final award which is enforceable under the New York Convention."
The 2026 Rules also allow parties to opt in to the Highly Expedited Arbitration Procedure. The key new features of the 2026 Rules include: (i) the ICC being empowered to appoint a sole arbitrator where parties cannot agree on one within 20 days from the respondent’s receipt of the Request and Statement of Claim (longer if the parties agree); (ii) the requirement for the award to be rendered within three months of the initial Case Management Conference; and (iii) the arbitrator’s ability to decide cases solely on the documents. Furthermore, and unlike the ICC’s existing Disputes Adjudication Board, this procedure generates a binding and final award which is enforceable under the New York Convention.
Parties and arbitrators (as well as witnesses and legal counsel) will need to ensure that the accelerated timeline and additional pressures do not adversely impact decisions which need to be taken in the course of the arbitration. However, the inherent expediency of the process (and party consent to it) may, depending upon the law of the seat, create a higher threshold for demonstrating procedural irregularity as compared to the ordinary ICC arbitration procedure.
Early determination (Article 30)
Included since October 2017 in the Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration, the early determination provisions now form part of the 2026 Rules themselves. In summary, any party may apply to the tribunal where a claim or defence is manifestly without merit or manifestly outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction. Whilst this change may facilitate quicker resolution of disputes and deter speculative claims, the high threshold risks incurring time and cost in unsuccessful applications, which may also be used strategically to delay proceedings. When considered alongside Article 46 of the 2026 Rules – requiring the ICC Court and tribunals to make every effort to ensure the enforceability of awards – it remains to be seen how tribunals will approach such applications.
The application of Article 30 will be shaped by the arbitral seat and the laws which apply to the arbitration, as differing jurisdictions may affect how such provisions are applied. For instance, some jurisdictions have established legislative provisions dealing specifically with unmeritorious or speculative claims, including express provisions in domestic arbitration legislation (for example, section 39A of the English Arbitration Act 1996).
It is also possible that, depending on the arbitral seat, any perceived breach of due process could be exploited by dissatisfied parties seeking annulment or resisting enforcement of any subsequent award.
Emergency Arbitration (Article 31 and Appendix IV)
"Emergency arbitration measures may extend beyond the immediate signatories to the arbitration agreement."
One of the more significant changes introduced by the 2026 Rules relates to the broadening of the emergency arbitration framework. Recognising the increasing prevalence of complex corporate structures in international commerce and international arbitration, the Rules now clarify that emergency arbitration measures may extend beyond the immediate signatories to the arbitration agreement.
In particular, applications may be made against:
- signatory parties;
- their successors; and/or
- parties in respect of whom the President of the ICC Court is satisfied, based on the information in the application, that they may be bound by the arbitration agreement.
It is, however, important to note that Article 31 does not alter the fundamental principle that arbitration is grounded in the consent of the parties who executed the arbitration agreement. Rather, as explained in the ICC’s own commentary, the Rules permit emergency measures to be taken – in exceptional circumstances – against third parties, but leaving any determination of jurisdiction to the arbitral tribunal at a later stage.⁶
"The 2026 Rules do not preclude parties from seeking emergency relief before national courts."
Furthermore, in common with the 2021 Rules, the 2026 Rules do not preclude parties from seeking emergency relief before national courts, without prejudice to the arbitration agreement, provided that the ICC Secretariat is notified without delay (2026 ICC Rules, Appendix IV, Article 9).
Terms of reference
After long deliberation, the ICC has taken the step of removing the requirement for Terms of Reference, albeit these are still available should the tribunal deem them to be useful. The functions of the Terms of Reference (primarily recording the parties’ consent to arbitrate, setting out procedural requirements and defining the scope of the dispute) have been absorbed by the Case Management Conference, which remains mandatory under the 2026 Rules. Furthermore, Article 34 of the 2026 Rules empowers the ICC President to fix or extend timelines for each case for a more streamlined, tailored and flexible process. This replaces the previous default six-month deadline, which could be subject to extensions and potentially wasted time and effort. As the scope of the dispute is capable of being defined elsewhere in the arbitration process, the removal of this potentially time-consuming requirement should save time and allow the tribunal and parties to focus on the more essential elements of the dispute.
Truncated tribunal (Article 16(5))
As a further streamlining measure, the ICC is now empowered to proceed with a truncated tribunal in the event of the death or removal from the ICC Court of an arbitrator after the final submission or final hearing. Previously, this could only be done after the close of proceedings.
Other updates
Written communications are to be made electronically by default, except in the case of exceptional circumstances or party requests; no such default existed under the 2021 Rules. In a similar vein, the arbitral tribunal may now sign the award electronically, sign the award in counterparts or request the ICC Secretariat to do so.
Moreover, Article 12(2) expressly expects that any “doubts the prospective arbitrator may have about whether to make a disclosure shall be resolved in favour of disclosure”, which we expect will (i) contribute to the tribunal disclosure process being more readily transparent; and (ii) reduce the risk of lack of independence and unconscious bias.
On the same subject, Article 12(5) of the 2026 Rules also requires parties to submit to the tribunal a list of individuals and entities that are relevant to the proceedings (and, therefore, in respect of whom arbitrators may also need to consider making any appropriate disclosures).
Conclusion
The 2026 Rules have been fine-tuned in the interests of increasing efficiency, flexibility and transparency. However, the introduction of the 2026 Rules does not indicate a major break with previous editions. It is submitted that the changes reflect an evolution, rather than a revolution, making changes which seek to modernise case management without uprooting the hallmark features of ICC arbitration. Furthermore, many of its changes are optional, promoting party autonomy and allowing parties the flexibility to adopt a more expedited procedure or to take a more thorough approach as the circumstances may require.
[1] New ICC Rules of Arbitration enhance efficiency, clarity and usability (22 May 2026): https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/news/new-icc-rules-of-arbitration-enhance-efficiency-clarity-and-usability/
[2] ICC releases preliminary 2025 dispute resolution statistics (12 February 2026): https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/news/icc-releases-preliminary-2025-dispute-resolution-statistics/
[3] White & Case, 2025 International Arbitration Survey – The path forward: Realities and opportunities in arbitration: https://www.whitecase.com/insight-our-thinking/2025-international-arbitration-survey-efficiency-effectiveness
[4] Having been set at US$2m for cases commenced between 1 March 2017 – 1 January 2021 and US$3m for cases commenced between 1 January 2021 – 1 June 2026.
[5] Unveiling the 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules, part 3: Expedited Procedure Provisions and Emergency Arbitration (19 May 2026): https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/news/unveiling-the-2026-icc-arbitration-rules-part-3-expedited-procedure-provisions-and-emergency-arbitration/
[6] See here: https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/news/unveiling-the-2026-icc-arbitration-rules-part-3-expedited-procedure-provisions-and-emergency-arbitration/
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