Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)

The Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, which is part of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation’s system.¹ 

The Court of Arbitration of the MCCI operated under the auspices of the MCCI. The Court of Arbitration was an institution for resolving economic disputes between residents and non-residents of the Russian Federation arising in the course of business practice under the legislation of the Russian Federation, intergovernmental and international agreements according to the procedure provided for by the Rules of the Arbitration, subject to a valid arbitration agreement on the jurisdiction of the MCCI Arbitration over the dispute.²

The MCCI was established in 1991 in the city of Moscow. The Court of Arbitration at the MCCI was established in 1993. It was renamed the Commercial Arbitration at the MCCI in 1995.³

In November 2017, the Commercial Arbitration at the MCCI ceased its activities due to the Russian arbitration law reform. The MCCI has applied to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation seeking the recognition of its status as a permanent arbitration institution according to new arbitration law but it remains inactive to this day.⁴

The Commercial Arbitration at the MCCI was a permanent arbitration institution operating under the Federal Law on Arbitration Courts in the Russian Federation and Law of the Russian Federation on International Commercial Arbitration.⁵ 

The Commercial Arbitration was composed of a Presidium, the Chairman of the Arbitration, two Vice-Chairmen of the Arbitration and the Secretariat of the Arbitration.⁶

The Presidium of the Commercial Arbitration was composed of the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen who join the Presidium ex officio as well as of two arbitrators from the Arbitration’s List of arbitrators.⁷ Members of the Presidium were approved by the MCCI on the motion of the Chairman of the Commercial Arbitration for a term of five years.⁸ The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Commercial Arbitration were appointed by the MCCI for a term of five years.⁹

The Secretariat of the Commercial Arbitration at the MCCI, which supported the work of the Commercial Arbitration was led by the executive secretary appointed by the MCCI on the motion of the Chairman of the Arbitration.¹⁰ The executive secretary had a deputy appointed by the MCCI on the motion of the Chairman of the Commercial Arbitration.¹¹ The executive secretary administered the allocation of duties between the executive secretary and the deputy and other members of the Secretariat.¹²

The Commercial Arbitration at the MCCI adopted rules, namely the Rules of the Arbitration at the MCCI, to govern arbitration proceedings initiated under the auspices of the MCCI.¹³ The MCCI Arbitration Rules were approved by the Order of the President of the MCCI on 20 July 2012 and came into force on 1 August 2012.¹⁴

The MCCI did not adopted specific rules or procedures in relation to investor-State disputes (Article 3.1 of the Rules of Arbitration nevertheless provided that disputes in the sphere of an investment activity may be referred to MCCI arbitration),¹⁵ and the principal activity of the institution remained commercial disputes. Nevertheless, the Arbitration Court at the MCCI has handled several investment arbitrations under the Convention on Protection of the Rights of the Investor signed on 28 March 1997 in Moscow.¹⁶

The MCCI provided a set of model arbitration clauses,¹⁷ including a general arbitration clause and alternative arbitration clauses.¹⁸

Since the Russian arbitration law reform, the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICAC) appears to be one of the main arbitration institutions administering international commercial and investment cases in the Russian Federation.¹⁹

Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s website.