Five years after the last revision in 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) has once again updated its Rules of Arbitration (ICC Rules 2026). The ICC Rules 2026 entered into force on 1 June 2026 and apply to all ICC arbitrations initiated from that date on, unless the parties have agreed to submit to an earlier version of the ICC Rules. While the ICC Rules 2021 primarily responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised the value threshold for the application of the Expedited Procedure Provisions, the ICC Rules 2026 respond to the growing demand for fast and cost-efficient dispute resolution. They introduce a new Highly Expedited Arbitration as an entirely new procedural format and modernize existing provisions.
This post highlights the most prominent and practical changes of which users should be aware. You can find our posts on the previous revision of the ICC Rules in 2021 here and on the revision of the ICC Rules in 2017 here.
New Highly Expedited Arbitration
The most significant amendment of the ICC Rules 2026 is the introduction of the Highly Expedited Arbitration (HEA) in Art. 33 of the ICC Rules 2026 and the new Appendix VI. This highly accelerated procedure goes beyond the existing Expedited Procedure Provisions (EPP) that were introduced in 2017. While the EPP apply automatically in disputes below a certain threshold amount - unless an opt-out has been agreed -, the HEA is a voluntary procedure that requires an express agreement of the parties (opt-in). The ICC’s decision to adopt a voluntary approach to applying the HEA is a positive step, as most clients were critical of the automatic application of the EPP.
The HEA provisions may cease to apply at any stage of the arbitration, either by agreement of the parties or by decision of the ICC Court, after consultation with the parties and the arbitral tribunal. In that event, the arbitration will continue under the EPP or the general rules, as determined by the ICC Court.
The key innovation of the HEA lies in the significantly more streamlined procedure as compared with the EPP:
- The respondent must provide its initial response within 20 days of receipt of the Request and Statement of Claim and submit its Answer, Statement of Defence and any Statement of Counterclaim within 30 days.
- The claimant must reply to counterclaims within 20 days from the receipt of the Statement of Counterclaim.
- The initial case management conference (CMC) must be held within seven days of transmission of the file to the arbitral tribunal.
- The final award is to be rendered within three months from the date of the initial CMC.
In comparison, the EPP provide a six-month deadline for the award from the initial CMC. The HEA halves this timeframe. To meet this tight timescale, the HEA relies on a front-loaded procedure. The parties must submit their comprehensive submissions including all evidence together with the Request for Arbitration and Statement of Claim or the Answer and Statement of Defence and Statement of Counterclaim, respectively. Further rounds of written submissions are eliminated. To simplify the proceedings and ensure compliance with the three-month deadline, the ICC implemented further restrictions:
- Joinder of additional parties and consolidation of arbitrations are excluded.
- The dispute is to be decided by a sole arbitrator.
- The dispute may be decided solely based on the parties’ written submissions, without holding a hearing or examining witnesses or experts.
Considering these features, the HEA appears particularly suitable for cases that can be decided by a sole arbitrator, are not extraordinarily complex or where the facts are largely undisputed and therefore no hearing is needed to hear witnesses or experts.
Notably, the HEA introduces the possibility of an unreasoned award. If the parties so agree, the tribunal may render the award without written reasons, which further accelerates the arbitration. However, parties should exercise this option with caution since an unreasoned award significantly limits the scope for judicial review of the award by state courts in setting aside proceedings pursuant to Sec. 1059 of the German Code of Civil Procedure.
New Early Determination
A further practically important amendment was the introduction of the Early Determination Provision in Art. 30 of the ICC Rules 2026. Parties may apply to the arbitral tribunal and request a dismissal of claims or defences at an early stage on the grounds that such claims or defences are manifestly without merit or manifestly outside the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction.
This instrument has already been established in various other Arbitration Rules, such as LCIA, NAI or HKIAC. It enables the early elimination of clearly unmeritorious claims without the need to conduct full proceedings on the merits. However, the statistics of the LCIA, for example, show that the initial enthusiasm of arbitral tribunals to accept applications for early determination have decreased already in the second year after its introduction. It therefore remains to be seen how successful this tool will be used by ICC tribunals in practice.
Other Relevant Updates in the ICC Rules 2026
- The value threshold for the automatic application of the EPP is raised once again – from USD 3 million to USD 4 million. According to ICC statistics, more than 1,000 expedited proceedings have been conducted since the introduction of the EPP in 2017. The raised value threshold means that an even larger proportion of ICC arbitrations will automatically be conducted as expedited proceedings in the future, unless an opt-out is agreed by the parties.
- Preliminary orders in emergency arbitrations may be requested and decided ex parte, that means without a hearing or notice of the opposing party (Art. 31 of the ICC Rules 2026 in combination with Appendix IV Art. 7 (1)). This reduces the time it takes to obtain interim relief from an emergency arbitrator.
- The Terms of Reference (ToR) are no longer mandatory. Instead, an initial case management conference is carried out at an early stage. Afterwards, new claims may only be raised with the permission of the arbitral tribunal (Art. 24 and 25 of the ICC Rules 2026). The elimination of the ToR is a welcome change that will contribute to the acceleration of the arbitral proceedings.
- While the ICC Rules 2026 expressly include a confidentiality provision for arbitrators (Art. 12 (8) of the ICC Rules 2026), the ICC Court and the Secretariat (Appendix II Art. 2 of the ICC Rules 2026), the parties are not bound by these confidentiality provisions. The parties need to agree on confidentiality separately. This is particularly noteworthy since confidentiality, which is seen as one of the major advantages of arbitration, needs to be specifically agreed upon by the parties.
- The disclosure standard for arbitrators under the ICC Rules 2026 remains the same. However, the parties are given more responsibility in identifying potential conflicts of interest. The parties must submit a list of persons and entities which it believes prospective arbitrators and arbitrators should consider for their conflict check, together with the reasons thereof (Art. 12 (5) of the ICC Rules 2026).
Conclusion
With the ICC Rules 2026, the ICC responds to parties’ increasing demand for faster and more cost-efficient dispute resolution. In particular, the newly introduced HEA enables the parties to obtain an (unreasoned) arbitral award in an even shorter timeframe. Additionally, the application of the EPP is further extended to disputes up to an amount of USD 4 million. Parties are well-advised to consider carefully whether they want to adopt one of the instruments to expedite their arbitration and if yes, which one. Advantages and disadvantages should be weighed up cautiously.
