The Indian Council of Arbitration

V. UNCITRAL Notes on Organising Arbitration Proceedings

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) finalized the Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings at its twenty-ninth session (New York, 28 May - 14 June 1996). In addition to the 36 member-States of the Commission, representatives of many other States and of a number of international organizations participated in the deliberations. In preparing the draft materials, the Secretariat of UNCITRAL consulted with experts from various legal systems, national arbitration bodies, as well as international professional associations.

The Commission, after an initial discussion on the project in 1993 considered in 1994 a draft entitled “Draft Guidelines for Preparatory Conferences in Arbitral Proceedings”. That draft was also discussed at several meetings of arbitration practitioners, including the XIIth International Arbitration Congress, held by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) at Vienna from 3 to 6 November 1994. On the basis of those discussions in the Commission and elsewhere, the Secretariat prepared “Draft Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings”. The Commission considered the draft Notes in 1995, and a revised draft in 1996, when the Notes were finalized.

The UNCITRAL Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings are given at Appendix VII.

International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)

The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) was formed in 1969 for promoting the use of International Commercial Arbitration as a method for settlement of international trade disputes. The ICCA consists of about 30 members who are eminent persons in the field of commercial arbitration from different parts of the world including developed and developing counties. Main tasks of the ICCA include organization of International Arbitration Congresses every four years and interim meetings every two years, in different parts of the world and publication of an important informative reference work called the “Year Book on Commercial Arbitration” every year. The ICCA Year Books are recognized and used as important source material and reference works in the field of international commercial arbitration.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

The International Court of Arbitration of the ICC is the world’s leading international arbitration institution. Although it is based in Paris, the Court’s membership is drawn from about 50 countries throughout the world and the arbitrations it conducts are held in many different cities.

Unique features of the ICC’s arbitral process are:



1. that the tribunal and parties are required shortly after the