ARBITRATION-LCIA
| Institution | International Court of Arbitration in London (LCIA)
The International Court of Arbitration in London administers arbitrations on the basis of its own Rules as well as on the basis of the UNCITRAL Model Law. |
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Recommended clause |
“Any dispute arising out of or relating to this contract, including any question relating to the existence, validity or termination thereof, shall be settled definitively by arbitration in accordance with the LCIA Rules, which Rules is deemed to be incorporated into this clause “.
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| Language | The initial language of the arbitration will be that of the arbitration agreement unless the parties have expressly agreed in writing (article 17.1). If the arbitration agreement is written in more than one language and it is not specified what will be the language of the conduct of the proceedings before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the Court is competent to determine it (article 17.2 ).
Then, the arbitral tribunal will decide on this point after giving the parties the opportunity to present their observations, taking into account the initial language of the arbitration and any other relevant element (Article 17.3). The Court or tribunal may in any case request the translation of a document which is expressed in a language other than the language of the arbitration. In practice, the most used language is English, because it is most often the language of the contract. |
| Procedure | The applicant sends the clerk a request accompanied by the information contained in Article 1 of the Rules. Within thirty days of notification of the motion, the defendant sends the clerk a written response.
The court of arbitration appoints the arbitral tribunal as soon as possible after receipt of the respondent’s response. Only the Court has the power to appoint arbitrators. It makes this appointment on the basis of the selection criteria agreed in writing between the parties. If the parties have provided for the appointment of an arbitrator by one or more of them or by a third party, this agreement will be considered as an arbitrator appointment agreement. The parties may themselves agree on the mode of conduct of the proceedings, having regard to the general duties of the arbitral tribunal. After the constitution of the tribunal, the plaintiff sends to the clerk a demand memorandum setting out in detail the facts and the points of law on which he bases his claims. The defendant has thirty days to send a defense statement setting out the means and all other facts and claims on which he relies. The arbitral tribunal has the power to rule on its own jurisdiction, including any disputes relating to the existence or survival, validity or effectiveness of the arbitration agreement. The tribunal may rule on its jurisdiction or power in an award on its jurisdiction or subsequently, in an award on the merits, as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. The arbitral tribunal also has the power, unless agreed between the parties, to pronounce provisional measures which are determined in article 25. The arbitral tribunal makes its award in writing, but it can make separate awards on different contentious issues at different times. Such awards have the same status as any other award rendered by the arbitral tribunal. |
| Duration | There are no official statistics. In practice, a procedure can last between 6 months and 18 months depending on the field and the complexity of the case. Article 9 provides for expedited arbitration; in this case, it can last a few weeks.
The existence of three arbitrators can delay the award for logistical reasons, up to 25% of the average duration. |
| Costs | Administrative costs and court fees are determined on the basis of an hourly rate. The court fee is £ 1,500 plus 5% of the amount of court fees. In addition, it must be taken into account that the clerk, his deputy and the Secretariat determine his fees on the basis of an hourly rate.
The fees of the tribunal are calculated in consideration of the work of its members; they are billed at rates appropriate to the particular circumstances of the dispute and its complexity. Normally the rates are between £ 800 and £ 2,000 per normal working day, and between £ 100 and £ 250 per hour for any period less than or in addition to the length of a normal working day (£ 1 ” 1, 6 Euros). |
