Draft:International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)

ICCA is an NGO with the mission to promote greater understanding of international arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution globally. It is a membership-based organization led by an international Governing Board of 41 prominent dispute resolution specialists and is supported by the ICCA Bureau.

ICCA is a registered Not-for-Profit organization incorporated in the United States.

ICCA Activities

Publications – ICCA produces authoritative publications that promote the use of international dispute resolution worldwide and serve as major sources of information on international arbitration jurisprudence and local arbitration law. ICCA’s principal publications are the Yearbook Commercial Arbitration, the International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration, the ICCA Awards Series and the ICCA Congress Series, all of which are regularly updated and published by Wolters Kluwer. ICCA publications are available on the Kluwer Arbitration database. Congresses and Conferences – ICCA Congresses are held every two years and contribute to critical debate in the field. A smaller interim conference is often held in the year between Congresses.

Projects – ICCA initiates research and outreach projects that are aimed at harmonizing arbitral practices and promoting understanding of dispute resolution processes worldwide. The work product of ICCA project groups are often in the forms of reports in ICCA’s Reports Series, which are available for free on the ICCA website. ICCA has collaborated on projects with the International Bar Association, the American Society of International Law, the New York City Bar Association, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and Queen Mary University of London. New York Convention Roadshows and Judicial Outreach – ICCA hosts ‘Roadshows’ on the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, commonly known as the 1958 New York Convention, for local judges across the globe to explore best practices when applying the Convention. The Roadshows make use of ICCA’s Guide to the Interpretation of the 1958 New York Convention.

Young ICCA – ICCA created Young ICCA in 2010, a network for young practitioners and students interested in arbitration, and continues to facilitate and support the work of Young ICCA.

ICCA Membership – Dispute resolution practitioners are able to contribute to ICCA’s mission by supporting the organisation as ICCA Members.

History

ICCA is the result of informal meetings of friends who gathered in Geneva in 1961 for the negotiation of the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, which was prepared and opened for signature on 21 April 1961. It was at one of these gatherings that the founders of ICCA agreed to organize an international congress devoted to raising awareness of, and improving, international commercial arbitration. The first ICCA Congress was held in Paris in May 1961.

In 1976, the first Volume of ICCA’s first publication was launched, the Yearbook Commercial Arbitration. The Congress Series was the second publication released by ICCA, the first Congress Book featured papers presented at the 1982 Congress in Hamburg. In 1996 the first edition of the ICCA International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration was released and in 2023 the ICCA Awards Series was launched.

In 1997 ICCA entered into a Cooperation Agreement with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to collaborate on the ICCA publications. Today, the ICCA Bureau and publications staff continue to work with the PCA, and the ICCA offices are based in the Peace Palace.

Past ICCA Presidents:


 * Lucy Reed (2020-2023)
 * Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (2018 - 2020)
 * Donald Donovan (2016 - 2018)
 * Albert Jan van den Berg (2014 - 2016)
 * Jan Paulsson (2010 - 2014)
 * Gerold Herrmann (2002 - 2010)
 * Fali Nariman (1994 - 2002)
 * Giorgio Bernini (1986 -1994)
 * Pieter Sanders (1978 - 1986)
 * Jean Robert (1961/1966 - 1978)