London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)

Legal assistance for disputes in the London Court of International Arbitration

The London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”) (hereinafter referred to as the “London Court of Arbitration”, “LCIA”) is one of the world’s leading international institutions for the resolution of commercial disputes.

On 5 April 1883, the City of London Court of General Meeting set up a committee to make proposals for the establishment of a tribunal to arbitrate domestic and, in particular, transnational commercial disputes arising within the City.

In 1884, the committee submitted its plan for the establishment of a tribunal to be administered by the City Corporation in collaboration with the London Chamber of Commerce. However, although the plan arose from an identified and urgent need, it had to be shelved until the Arbitration Act 1889 was passed. In April 1891, the scheme was finally approved and the new court was named the London Chamber of Arbitration. In April 1903, the Court was renamed the London Court of Arbitration and two years later moved from the Guildhall to the nearby London Chamber of Commerce. In 1981, the name of the Court was changed to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) to reflect the nature of its work, which by then was predominantly international.

Jurisdiction of the London Court of Arbitration

The London Court of Arbitration administers arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution procedures regardless of location and under any legal system.

For contracting parties who wish to have disputes referred to arbitration under the LCIA Rules in future, the following provisions should be included in the concluded foreign trade contract, based on the model clause recommended by the London Court of International Arbitration.

The LCIA has access to the largest pool of arbitrators, mediators and experts from many jurisdictions with the widest range of expertise. The dispute resolution service is available to all contracting parties with no membership requirement.

A registration fee is payable with the request for arbitration and thereafter the arbitrators and the LCIA apply hourly rates.

However, the parties may agree in writing on the seat of their arbitration at any time before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal and, after such constitution, with the prior written consent of the arbitral tribunal.

The initial language of the arbitration (before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal) shall be the language or prevailing language of the arbitration agreement, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.

In addition, the LCIA may order the parties to make one or more payments, in such proportions and at such times as it considers appropriate, to the LCIA to provide for the payment of the costs of the arbitration.

Any dealings between a party and the LCIA will be subject to any requirements applicable to that party or the LCIA relating to bribery, corruption, terrorist financing, fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and/or economic or trade sanctions, and the LCIA will deal with any party on the understanding that it complies with all such requirements.

The LCIA operates under the LCIA Regulations 2020.

Dispute resolution in the London Court of International Arbitration

A party wishing to commence arbitration under it must submit to the Registrar of the LCIA Court a written Request for Arbitration containing or accompanied by:

1. full name, nationality and full contact details;
2. the full terms of the arbitration agreement relied upon by the Claimant in support of its claim, together with a copy of any contractual or other documentation containing those terms and to which the Claimant's claim relates;
3. a statement briefly setting out the nature and circumstances of the dispute, its proposed monetary amount or valuation, the transaction in issue and the claim made by the Claimant against any other party to the arbitration;
4. a statement of any procedural matters of the arbitration (such as the place of the arbitration, the language(s) of the arbitration, the number of arbitrators, their qualifications and identities) which the parties have already agreed in writing or in respect of which the Claimant makes any proposal under the Arbitration Agreement;
5. where the arbitration agreement (or any other written agreement) provides in any way for the appointment of arbitrators by any party, the full name, email address, postal address and telephone number of the candidate nominated by the Claimant;
6. confirmation that the registration fee has been or is being paid to the LCIA;
7. confirmation that copies of the Request (including all accompanying documents) have been or are being served on all other parties to the arbitration.

Within 28 days of the commencement of the proceedings or such time as the court may determine, the Respondent must send to the Registrar a written Answer to the Request containing or accompanied by:

1. the full name, nationality and full contact details of the Respondent;
2. an affirmation or rejection of all or part of the claim made by the Claimant in the Request for Arbitration, including a reliance by the Claimant on the arbitration agreement in support of its claim;
3. if not a full confirmation, a statement briefly setting out the nature and circumstances of the dispute, the amount or value involved, the transaction(s) in issue and the objections raised by the respondent, and identifying any counterclaim raised by the respondent against any claimant and any cross-claim against any other Respondent;
4. a response to any statement on procedural issues of the arbitration contained in the Request for Arbitration, including the respondent’s own statement as to the place of the arbitration, the language(s) of the arbitration, the number of arbitrators, their qualifications and identities, and any other procedural issue which the parties have already agreed to in writing or with respect to which the respondent makes any proposal under the arbitration agreement;
5. if the arbitration agreement (or any other written agreement) in any way requires the appointment of arbitrators by the parties, the full name, email address, postal address and telephone number of the respondent’s nominee;
6. confirmation that copies of the answer have been or are being served on all other parties to the arbitration.

The arbitral tribunal may make separate awards on different issues at different times, including interim payments on account of any claim, counterclaim or cross-claim. In this case, the arbitral award may be expressed in any currency, unless the parties agree otherwise. The decisions of the London Arbitration Tribunal on all issues related to the arbitration shall be final and binding on the parties and the arbitral tribunal, unless otherwise prescribed by the LCIA.

Despite the established rules for applying to the London Court of Arbitration and the procedure for considering disputes, often, engaging a qualified specialist on such a matter allows a foreign trade participant to reduce the time for independent application to the LCIA and minimize the risks associated with the consideration of a dispute in the London Court Arbitration.

Legal services

1. Consulting on disputes in London Court of Arbitration
2. Inclusion of an arbitration clause in the text of a foreign trade contract to allow the dispute to be considered in the LCIA
3. Preparation of documents for applying to the London Court of Arbitration
4. Representation of interests in disputes in the LCIA