International Construction Law Review
EXPEDITED ARBITRATION AND THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION DISPUTES
AIDAN STEENSMA, OF COUNSEL
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, London (Aidan.Steensma@cms-cmno.com)
ADRIAN BELL, PARTNER AND SOLICITOR ADVOCATE
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, London (Adrian.Bell@cms-cmno.com)
1. INTRODUCTION
International arbitration has become the preferred means of resolving cross-border disputes in the construction industry. However, there have been growing complaints that the process has come to resemble common law litigation, with interim applications, extensive disclosure and lengthy witness examination, resulting in a lack of speed and disproportionate costs. To address such criticisms, many arbitral institutions have introduced expedited procedures in recent years.
In March 2017, the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”), the most popular arbitral institution for international construction disputes, introduced an expedited procedure (the “ICC Expedited Procedure”). In doing so, the ICC joined other institutions with similar procedures including: The International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, the German Institution of Arbitration, the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution and the Istanbul Arbitration Centre.
This article outlines the ICC Expedited Procedure, addresses some recent criticisms and considers the future use of expedited proceedings in international construction disputes.
2. ICC EXPEDITED PROCEDURE
The ICC’s Expedited Procedure applies automatically to arbitration agreements concluded after 1 March 2017 if the amount in dispute is less than US$2 million and the parties have not expressly opted out of it or the
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