Institutional Arbitration Definition

ernational Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”), the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), and the London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”). Each of these organizations is described below.(52) These (and other) arbitral institutions have promulgated sets of procedural rules that apply where parties have agreed to arbitration pursuant to such rules.(53) Among other things, institutional rules set out the basic procedural framework and timetable for the arbitration process. Institutional rules also typically authorize the host arbitral institution to select arbitrators in particular disputes (that is, to serve as “appointing authority”), to resolve challenges to arbitrators, to designate the place of arbitration, to fix or influence the

Institutional arbitration is conducted according to a standing set of procedural rules and supervised, to a greater or lesser extent, by a professional staff. This reduces the risks of procedural breakdowns, particularly at the beginning of the arbitral process, and of technical defects in the arbitral award. The institution's involvement can be particularly constructive on issues relating to the appointment of arbitrators, the resolution of challenges to arbitrators, and the arbitrators' fees. Less directly, the institution lends its standing to any award that is rendered, which may enhance the likelihood of voluntary compliance and judicial enforcement. On the other hand, ad hoc arbitration is typically more flexible, less expensive (since it avoids sometimes substantial institutional fees), and more confidential than institutional arbitration. Moreover, the growing size and sophistication of the international arbitration bar, and the efficacy of the international legal framework for commercial arbitration, have partially reduced the relative advantages of institutional arbitration. Nonetheless, many experienced international practitioners prefer the "12"more structured, predictable character of institutional arbitration, at least in the absence of unusual circumstances arguing for an ad hoc

The ICC remains the world's leading international commercial arbitration institution, and has less of a national character than any other arbitral institution. Its annual case-load was well above 300 cases per year during the 1980s and early 1990s, and it now exceeds 500 cases per year.(58) Most of these cases are international disputes, many involving very substantial sums. The ICC's case-load involves parties from around the world, with Western European parties being involved in less than 50% of all ICC cases in many recent years. The ICC has promulgated the ICC Rules of Arbitration (“ICC Rules”), which were most recently revised in 1998, as well as the ICC Rules of Optional Conciliation.(59) Under the ICC Rules, the ICC is extensively involved in the administration of individual arbitrations. Among other things, the ICC is responsible for service of the Request for Arbitration and other preliminary submissions on the parties;(60) fixing and receiving payment of advances on costs by the parties at the outset of an arbitration;(61) confirming the parties' nominations of arbitrators;(62) appointing arbitrators if a party defaults or if the parties are unable to agree upon a presiding arbitrator or sole arbitrator;(63) considering challenges to the independence of arbitrators;(64) in certain "13"cases, reviewing so-called “Terms of Reference,” which define the issues and procedures for the