International Arbitration: Balancing Efficiency And Party Autonomy – The ICC Publishes Its New 2026 Arbitration Rules

On 22 May 2026, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published its updated Arbitration Rules (2026 ICC Rules), which will apply to all ICC arbitrations commenced on or after 1 June 2026. The President of the ICC Court of Arbitration, Claudia Salomon, says the goal is to make arbitration “more efficient, while preserving the flexibility and procedural integrity that parties expect”.

The update comes as ICC arbitration continues to be the preferred choice for users globally.¹ The ICC’s caseload has remained consistently high over the past 5 years. In 2025, 894 new cases were filed (compared to 946 in 2020), with 1,869 ongoing cases administered under the ICC Rules at year end (1,833 in 2020), and the value of pending disputes totalling $299 billion ($258 billion in 2020, though this difference is not inflation-adjusted).²

The new 2026 ICC Rules (available here) introduce a series of notable changes – including a ‘highly-expedited’ procedure and an early determination mechanism for unmeritorious claims – alongside other adjustments aimed to streamline proceedings and reduce time and cost, ensuring the ICC Rules remain the preferred institution globally. The 2026 ICC Rules have also increased arbitrators’ case management powers in general. We highlight the key changes below.

Introduction of a Highly Expedited Procedure

In line with the parties’ desire for efficient, quick dispute resolution solutions, the 2026 ICC Rules introduce new ‘highly expedited arbitration provisions’ (HEAP),³ designed to resolve disputes with lower-complexity, a simple factual matrix, or discrete issues. The HEAP, which do not have automatic application based on value or other criteria, work on an opt-in basis by agreement between parties (either in an existing arbitration agreement or after a dispute arises).

The HEAP condense the arbitral process such that the final award is issued within three months of the initial case management conference (CMC):

• HEAP arbitrations are always referred to a sole arbitrator;
• the sole arbitrator has 7 days from receipt of the file to hold the CMC;
• the sole arbitrator has discretion over the procedure adopted, and a decision can be made on the documents (i.e. without a hearing);
• the parties can agree to an award being issued without reasons;
• the Request and Answer must include a Statement of Claim and Defence respectively;
• the parties are encouraged to submit evidence concurrently; and
• no joinder of additional parties or consolidation of arbitrations will be allowed.

The introduction of HEAP aligns with a broader trend among arbitral institutions to offer faster tracks for smaller claims: notably, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) introduced a similar streamlined procedure in its 2025 Rules, which applies by default to disputes under SGD 1 million (≈USD 750,000) and likewise aims to issue an award within three months.

New Early Determination Power

The 2026 ICC Rules empower ICC tribunals to dismiss clearly unmeritorious claims or issues (or defences thereto) at an early stage - without the need to proceed to a full evidentiary hearing. The introduction of an early determination power brings the ICC into line with other major arbitral institutions – notably the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), SIAC and London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

While arguably ICC tribunals already possessed the inherent authority to do this, explicitly codifying this mechanism in the rules will bring increased clarity and is expected to enhance parties’ and tribunals’ confidence on early determination, which will help streamline proceedings and deter purely tactical commencement of arbitrations.

Specifically, parties will be able to apply for claims or defences to be disposed of summarily on the grounds that they are “manifestly without merit”, or “manifestly outside the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction”.⁴ It remains to be seen how ICC arbitrators will employ the new summary dismissal power, and how the threshold will be applied.

Changes to Emergency Arbitrator Provisions

Emergency arbitration permits parties to obtain urgent interim or conservatory relief prior to the constitution of a full arbitral tribunal, and the ICC’s emergency arbitrator provisions have been utilised 287 times since first introduced in 2012.⁵

The 2026 ICC Rules have expanded their scope of application and enhance their effectiveness, based on the realities of past ICC practice.

Going forward:

• emergency arbitrations proceedings can be initiated against a party who is not a signatory to an arbitration agreement, where the President of the ICC Court is satisfied that an arbitration agreement binding that party may exist; and
• preliminary orders (including without notice to the other party) are now expressly provided for (again taking after the LCIA, HKIAC, and SIAC rules), to prevent another party from frustrating the purpose of the EA application. Procedural safeguards apply and other parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case if an order is granted.

Increased Scope of Expedited Procedure Provisions (EPP)

As we anticipated earlier in 2026, the ICC has increased the threshold below which the EPP apply by default.⁶

From 1 June 2026, all disputes with a value of less than $4 million filed in respect of an arbitration agreement concluded on or after 1 June 2026 will proceed under the EPP.⁷

The EPP, as carried over from the 2021 Rules, allow for the appointment of a sole arbitrator (even where parties have agreed a greater number of arbitrators), compress the procedural timetable to rendering a final award within six months from the CMC, and give the tribunal powers to streamline proceedings by limiting document production, pleadings, and evidence, and even to decide the case without an oral hearing.

The increase in value threshold demonstrates the confidence of the ICC in the ability for higher-value disputes to be resolved fairly and effectively under shorter, simplified frameworks.

The scope of the EPP will now be substantial – according to ICC statistics, in 2025 alone, 40% of cases filed did not exceed $4 million in value.⁸

Terms of Reference No Longer Mandatory

The Terms of Reference, a long-term defining characteristic of ICC arbitration, will no longer be mandatory under the 2026 ICC Rules.

Up until now, parties and tribunals in all ICC arbitrations (excluding those under the EPP) had to agree and sign at the start of an arbitration the so-called “Terms of Reference” – a document setting out the framework for the proceedings, the parties’ claims and relief sought, the issues to be determined, the jurisdictional basis of the arbitration, and key procedural matters.

Yet what was originally envisaged as a tool to crystallise the dispute and enhance early case management gradually became more controversial. The change is therefore intended to simplify proceedings and prevent early delay to claims. It also brings the 2026 ICC Rules in line with the rules of other major arbitral institutions.

Parties will still be free to adopt Terms of Reference voluntarily, however it remains to be seen how often they will choose to do so in practice – by comparison, under the EPP, parties have voluntarily adopted Terms of Reference in under 2.5% of cases.⁹ Importance may therefore shift to the CMC and Procedural Order 1 as the parties’ opportunity to establish the boundaries of proceedings.

Other Changes

In addition to the structural changes to the 2026 ICC Rules identified above, the new rules also adopt other notable amendments:

• the 2026 Rules maintain arbitrators’ disclosure standard as an ongoing duty but clarify that any doubt should be resolved in favour of disclosure. Parties are also now requested to include in the Request for Arbitration and Answer, a list of individuals and entities that prospective arbitrators should screen for potential conflicts;¹⁰
• there is a greater emphasis on electronic communication, and express provision for hybrid hearings and tribunal deliberations;¹¹
• arbitrators and tribunal secretaries are now bound by an express obligation of confidentiality, though the 2026 ICC Rules do not have a confidentiality obligation on the parties themselves by default.¹² That remains a point of contrast to other major institutional rules, including the LCIA, HKIAC, and SIAC;
• parties now have 45 days (as opposed to 30 days) to apply to correct awards – which may create conflicts with local national laws, where deadlines to challenge or set aside an award can be much shorter;¹³
• a party can now be joined to an ICC arbitration after the tribunal is constituted if it consents to such joinder. The consent of the tribunal and other parties is no longer needed;¹⁴
• the schedules of administrative expenses and arbitrators’ fees have been decreased for disputes below $10 million, though increased for claims over that threshold.¹⁵ While the ICC has historically been the natural forum for high-value claims, this measure may attract more lower-value disputes which might formerly have been priced-out of the ICC;
• when an ICC arbitration follows an ICC mediation, the ICC will credit half of the mediation administrative expenses against the arbitration costs.¹⁶ This incentivizes users of ICC arbitration to also rely on the ICC for mediation purposes, while creating a financial incentive for parties that may not have considered mediation before to rely on it.

Conclusion

As international arbitrations have become increasingly lengthy and rigid, more akin to traditional litigation proceedings, the changes brought in by the 2026 ICC Rules are a welcome reversal to this trend, introducing or improving a variety of procedural mechanism to ensure greater speed, efficiency and flexibility in the arbitral process.

The new rules are expected to maintain the pre-eminence and desirability of ICC arbitration, not only within its traditional bastion of high-value international commercial disputes, but also to boost its appeal for lower-value, more cost and time-sensitive arbitration and mediation proceedings.

Our international disputes team is on hand to assist with any queries.

Footnotes

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