At the ICC India Arbitration Conference 2026 held in Mumbai on October 31, Alexander Fessas, Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, highlighted the institution’s efforts to make arbitration more efficient, flexible and responsive to the evolving needs of international commercial disputes.
Speaking about the developments under the 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules, Fessas reflected on the growing importance of emergency arbitration, expedited proceedings and mechanisms that enable tribunals to deal with issues requiring urgent determination.
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Arbitration must continue to evolve to meet the demands of modern commercial disputes, with greater procedural efficiency, effective emergency relief and mechanisms that enable disputes to be resolved without unnecessary delay.
Fessas discussed the evolution of emergency arbitration, explaining how the mechanism has become an effective means of securing urgent interim relief before the constitution of an arbitral tribunal. He also referred to the introduction of preliminary orders under the 2026 Rules, which allow parties, in appropriate circumstances, to seek orders without prior notice where notifying the other side could defeat the purpose of the requested relief.
He highlighted the experience of the ICC’s Expedited Procedure Provisions, introduced in 2017, which have enabled parties to obtain final awards within six months of the initial Case Management Conference. The 2026 Rules retain this framework while expanding its reach, with the threshold for automatic application of the expedited procedure increased to USD 4 million for qualifying arbitration agreements concluded on or after June 1, 2026.
Another important aspect of his address was the role of early determination in arbitration. Fessas discussed the need for tribunals to have effective mechanisms to determine claims or defences that are manifestly without merit, or fall outside their jurisdiction, without allowing such issues to prolong the proceedings unnecessarily.
He also referred to the introduction of Highly Expedited Arbitration under the 2026 Rules, an opt-in mechanism under which parties can seek a final award within three months of the initial Case Management Conference.
Fessas further emphasised the importance of institutional support and access to information, encouraging practitioners to make use of the guidance and resources published by the ICC and to engage with its teams across jurisdictions.
His address underscored the broader direction of institutional arbitration: combining procedural flexibility and effective interim protection with safeguards for fairness, while ensuring that arbitration remains capable of responding to the demands of increasingly complex commercial disputes.