NEW BEGINNINGS: ICC FINE TUNES ARBITRATION RULES
Corporate disputes rarely arise at a convenient moment. They surface mid-joint ventures, during a critical supply relationship or in the weeks after an acquisition closes.
By the time parties have exchanged pleadings, appointed an arbitral tribunal and worked through a procedural calendar, the commercial reality may have shifted. What parties often want is not just a resolution but a timely one, at a predictable cost.
Expedited arbitration has become a standard offering at most major arbitration institutions, and the arbitration community has broadly accepted that faster sometimes can be better. However, even expedited procedures, which typically deliver an award within three to six months, still follow a conventional arbitral structure. Costs remain difficult to predict in advance, and certain disputes call for something more immediate and focused.
SCC Express sits in the space that neither arbitration nor mediation fully occupies. Unlike mediation, it produces a substantive legal assessment of the dispute on the merits, rather than a facilitated compromise. Unlike arbitration, it operates on a compressed timeline at a fixed institutional cost.
The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) Arbitration Institute developed the procedure after observing that parties were using its emergency arbitrator mechanism not only for urgent interim relief, but also as an informal route to a fast merits assessment.
The practice revealed an unmet need. Following consultations with users and counsel, SCC Express was launched in 2021, and the current version of the ‘Rules for Express Dispute Assessment’ entered into force on 1 January 2023.
Oct-Dec 2026 issue
SCC Arbitration Institute