International arbitration in Paris for a company from Kazakhstan (ICC)

International arbitration is an effective option for resolving disputes between companies from different countries. As a rule, such disputes arise over different types of economic relations: purchase and sale, delivery, services, and so on.

Companies choose commercial arbitration for several reasons: fast, confidential and very professional. What does this mean and what are the advantages over state courts you will find out in this article

Also in the article we will talk about what Paris commercial arbitration is, why the parties choose it and give instructions on how to resolve a dispute in such a court.

What is International Arbitration in Paris?

International commercial arbitrations exist in many countries. They are established by an international treaty to which more than 170 countries are parties. This means that these countries recognize international arbitration awards in their countries. (New York Convention)

Arbitration is not a state court, and it is independent of the state.

International Arbitration in Paris is located at the Chamber of Commerce of Paris and is one of the arbitrations mentioned above.

Now it is necessary to tell why counterparties choose international commercial arbitration.

Firstly, there is freedom of choice, which does not exist in state courts. In commercial arbitrations, the parties can choose the arbitrator, the language, the applicable law, and the place where the dispute will be heard. This choice simplifies the dispute resolution procedure.

Let’s start with the arbitrator. An arbitrator is a judge; he resolves disputes between international companies. The parties will agree on an arbitrator before applying to commercial arbitration. It is also possible to choose to have your case heard by one or more arbitrators.

We will explain the advantage of this choice with an example. Let’s say companies have entered into an agreement for the supply of goods. One company is from Kazakhstan, the second is from Germany, something went wrong and a dispute arose.

To resolve a dispute, you need a specialist who knows private international law, the national law chosen by the parties and, for example, the German language. In a state court, the parties are unlikely to find such a judge, but in commercial arbitration they will, and he will help resolve the dispute.

The parties can then choose the applicable law. This means that the case will be considered under the national law of a country or under private international law. For example, according to the rules of Incoterms 2000.

It is worth noting that arbitration decides the case on its merits, applying the rules of law chosen by the parties.

Counterparties choose the language of consideration of the case and the place. They can choose conditions that will be convenient for the parties.

Another advantage of choosing Paris arbitration is that all disputes are confidential, you will receive your decision quite quickly and it will not be published.

All rules of work and consideration of a case in the Paris Arbitration are written in the regulations. This is their main document.

Submitting an application to International Arbitration in Paris

Before sending a statement of claim to the Arbitration, several conditions must be met:

  • Submit an application with an arbitration clause;
  • Pay the registration fee. ($5,000)

As you can see, international arbitration in Paris, like other arbitrations, is significantly more expensive than state courts.

All legal fees consist of registration fees, administrative fees, and arbitrator fees. Yes, it is more expensive than in state courts, but for this money the parties receive speed, quality and confidentiality.

You can calculate the costs using the calculator on the arbitration website: https://iccwbo.org/dispute-solve/dispute-solve-services/arbitration/costs-and-pay/costs-calculator/

For example, if a dispute arose between a company from Kazakhstan and a company from Germany and the disputed amount was $200,000, then we can calculate the costs.

The companies have to pay an administrative fee of $8,485, an arbitration fee of $14,618 and an administrative fee of $5,000. Pay attention that the registration fee is non-refundable.

So, some notes on submitting applications. We sent an application for arbitration by mail, or you can use their Case Connect service https://customervoice.microsoft.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xqNBxQtSzkmCICIorHw2Jt-DoX2sXXpNseYGfHas6ylUNVpITVdaTlQyVlJSN1dGWVI0VVJDOEFKTC4u or send to the mail https://iccwbo.org/contact-us/dispute-resolution-services-contact-us/#anchor-registry-team

We also send an arbitration clause: it can be written in a contract between the companies or a separate arbitration agreement.

The Arbitration Rules give us the recommended form.

“All disputes arising out of or in connection with this contract shall be finally settled in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with those Rules.”

– “the arbitral tribunal will consist of 3 arbitrators/single arbitrator”;

  – “the place of arbitration will be […]”;

– “the language of the arbitration proceedings will be […]”;

  – “this contract is governed by substantive law […]”.

In response, the Arbitration must accept the application and ask to select the following conditions:

  1. The number of arbitrators who will consider this dispute (the court proceeds from the number established by the arbitration agreement of the parties);
  2. Confirmation of the candidacy from our side;
  3. Place of arbitration;
  4. Language of arbitration proceedings;
  5. The amount of money for which a claim for arbitration is filed. The cost of the claim also plays a role in which arbitration rules will apply;
  6. Payment of all expenses for arbitrators;

It is also necessary to choose a procedure for considering the case. There is usual, expedited and emergency.

The usual procedure is consideration within 6 months, three or one arbitrator, the parties receive the decision immediately after it is made.

Expedited procedure – up to $2 million, one arbitrator, his fee is reduced by 20 percent, a case management conference must take place within 15 days after the transfer of the case materials to the arbitrator, who must make an arbitration decision within 6 months

  There is also an emergency procedure. The parties send documents, an arbitrator is appointed within 24 hours and within 5 days he resolves the dispute.

If there is a possibility that the defendant will evade responsibility or, for example, sell his property, then interim measures must be introduced.

The decision on interim measures must be made in the form of an order or an arbitral decision.

The decision on interim measures is made within 5 days from the moment the case is referred to the arbitrator.

Statement of claim to the International Arbitration in Paris ICC

The Paris Arbitration accepted our application and now we can explain to the arbitration what happened in the statement of claim

It is important to correctly and in detail explain in the statement of claim what happened.

It is worth paying attention to certain points of the statement of claim:

  1. Description of the main facts (What happened, when it happened, how the defendant violated your rights and not fulfill his obligations);
  2. Evidence (Contract, agreements, receipt, correspondence, witnesses) In arbitration there is a fairly large list of acceptable evidence;
  3. Requirements (What your company wants from the defendant).

As you have seen, consideration of a dispute in Paris arbitration is not a cheap procedure. That is why there is a principle of compensation of expenses. If you win the dispute, the defendant company will pay all costs.

The arbitral tribunal, at the request of one of the parties, may oblige the party in the final arbitration decision to compensate the costs incurred by the other party, including the services of legal representatives, taking into account the outcome of the case.

Holding meetings and obtaining decisions

The arbitration tribunal determines the location of the hearing. It could be offline or online using video conference. And also the date and time.

The Paris Arbitration holds meetings within the time limits established by the Rules, depending on the type of procedure chosen by the parties.

After the decision is made, the parties immediately receive a document regarding the decision of the Paris Arbitration Court.

If the counterparties decide to conclude a settlement agreement, then it is better to do this as a decision of the Paris Arbitration, because then it may need to be legalized, for example, in Kazakhstan.

Conclusion

International counterparties quite often choose Paris Arbitration as the venue for their dispute.

It can be said that this is a reliable, fast, confidential and time-tested way to resolve a dispute, and the solution will be recognized in more than 170 countries.