ICC Expert Rules (English version)

The ICC Rules for the Proposal of Experts and Neutrals are in force as from 1 February 2015.

Through its International Centre for ADR, ICC offers under the rules published in this booklet three distinct services relating to experts and neutrals:

1. Proposal of experts and neutrals, whereby the ICC puts forward the name(s) of one or more experts or neutrals upon a request from one or more parties, a court or an arbitral tribunal;
2. Appointment of experts and neutrals, whereby the ICC makes an appointment that is binding upon the requesting parties;
3. Administration of expert proceedings, whereby the ICC is chosen to administer and supervise the entire expert proceedings.

The rules refer to the proposal and appointment of neutrals, as well as experts, confirming the practice that has developed through the ICC’s extensive experience of sourcing neutrals not only for the proceedings it administers but also for ad hoc and court proceedings. Indeed, neutrals can act in many different settings, e.g. as adjudicators, mediators, neutral evaluators or dispute board members.

Preamble

The ICC Rules for the Proposal of Experts and Neutrals (the “Rules”) are administered by the ICC International Centre for ADR (the “Centre”), which is a separate administrative body within the International Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC”). In administering the Rules, the Centre is assisted by a Standing Committee, the statutes of which are set forth in Appendix I.

Upon the request of any physical or legal person(s) or any court or tribunal (the “Person”), the Centre can provide the name of one or more experts in a particular field of activity or the name of one or more neutrals. An expert proposed under the Rules may be a physical person or a legal person, such as a company or a partnership.

Under the Rules, the Centre’s role is limited to proposing the name of one or more experts or neutrals. The Person requesting a proposal may then contact directly the proposed expert(s) or neutral(s) and, as the case may be, agree with such expert(s) or neutral(s) on the scope of the appropriate mission and fees. There is no obligation to make use of the services of an expert or a neutral proposed by the Centre.

The proposal of an expert may be useful in many different contexts. A person may require an expert in connection with its ongoing business activities or in connection with contractual relations. A party to an arbitration or other contentious process may wish to obtain the name of a potential expert witness. A court or arbitral tribunal that has decided to appoint an expert may wish to obtain the proposal of an expert.

The proposal of a neutral may be useful to parties who wish to use the services of a neutral as a mediator or a dispute board member, or to assist them with the resolution of a dispute in a similar procedure that is not administered by the ICC.