New ICC Arbitration Rules

On January 1, 2012, the newest version of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration will enter into force (the "new Rules" or "2012 Rules"). Supported by a task force of approximately 175 members, a drafting committee of 20 worked for nearly three years to revise the Rules, which had last been revised in 1998. The drafting committee was also assisted by the ICC Commission on Arbitration, a consultative body with more than 500 members from 90 countries. The 2012 Rules were approved by the ICC World Council in June in Mexico City, and were "launched" throughout the fall of 2011 via comprehensive conferences sponsored by the ICC in Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Miami.

The ICC's International Court of Arbitration is one of the major institutions for resolving international commercial disputes. In 2010, 793 requests for arbitration, concerning 2,145 parties from 140 countries and territories, were filed with the ICC Court.