I. Definition
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-profit international organization that represents business interests in international affairs, with a network spanning 45 million companies in over 100 countries.1 In 2016 ICC was granted Observer status by the General Assembly of the United Nations.2 Its Secretariat is located in Paris.
II. History
The ICC was created in 1919 by member States with the purpose of promoting open trade and a free financial market. Its founding member States were Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. In present times ICC’s National Committees exist in over 90 countries around the world.3
ICC has developed numerous global standards for the international conduct of business, including the International Commercial Terms (Incoterms®). The most recent version is Incoterms® 2020.
III. The ICC international court
The ICC International Court of Arbitration (ICC Court) is the world’s leading arbitral institution. It was established in 1923 and its main function is to resolve commercial and business disputes to support trade and investment. The services of the ICC Court are often used by individuals, businesses and governments to solve their disputes.4 The Court mainly serves for commercial disputes and, to a lesser extent, investor-State disputes.5
IV. ICC rules of arbitration
The current ICC 2017 Rules of Arbitration and 2021 Rules of Arbitration contain several unique features:
The ICC 2021 Rules of Arbitration will enter into force on 1 January 2021 and will apply to ICC arbitrations registered on or after this date. These new rules consider specific provisions applicable to treaty-based arbitration:
Other relevant amendment includes the obligation of the parties to disclose Third-Party Funders.17
V. Treaty practice and investment arbitration at the ICC
In 1996 the first investor-State case was filed with the ICC on the basis of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Since then, at time of writing, 42 investor-State cases have been administered by the ICC. More specifically, at time of writing the host States involved in these proceedings belong to the following regions:16
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