London Court of International Arbitration
Encyclopedia
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
providing the service of international arbitration
International arbitration
International arbitration is a leading method for resolving disputes arising from international commercial agreements and other international relationships...
.
The administrative headquarters of the LCIA are merely based in London. LCIA is an international institution, and is generally regarded as the leading global forum for dispute resolution proceedings for all parties, irrespective of their location or system of law. Although arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
and the provisional of formal arbitration tribunals are the institution's main focus, the LCIA is also active in mediation
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
, a form of alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation. ADR basically is an alternative to a formal court hearing or litigation...
(ADR).
History
On 5 April 1883, the Court of Common Council of the City of London set up a committee to draw up proposals for the establishment of a tribunal for the arbitration of domestic and, in particular, of trans-national commercial disputes arising within the ambit of the City.The Law Quarterly Review
Law Quarterly Review
The Law Quarterly Review is an academic legal periodical published by Sweet & Maxwell. It was first published in 1885...
wrote at the inauguration of the tribunal "[t]his Chamber is to have all the virtues which the law lacks. It is to be expeditious where the law is slow, cheap where the law is costly, simple where the law is technical, a peacemaker instead of a stirrer-up of strife."
In 1884, the committee submitted its plan for a tribunal that would be administered by the City of London Corporation, with the co-operation of the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry
London Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry was established on 25 July 1881 at Mansion House in the City of London with 130 members. The London Chamber represented the London Metropolis and not just the City of London. Many of the original 130 members still play a role in London Chamber today...
. However, though the plan had arisen out of an identified and urgent need, it was to be placed on hold pending the passing of the English Arbitration Act 1889.
In April 1891, the scheme was finally adopted and the new tribunal was named The City of London Chamber of Arbitration. It was to sit at the Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
in the City, under the administrative charge of an arbitration committee made up of members of the London Chamber and of the City Corporation.
The Chamber was formally inaugurated on 23 November 1892, in the presence of a large and distinguished gathering, which included the then President of the Board of Trade. Considerable interest was also shown both by the press and in legal commercial circles.
In April 1903, the tribunal was re-named the London Court of Arbitration and, two years later, the Court moved from the Guildhall to the nearby premises of the London Chamber of Commerce. The Court's administrative structure remained largely unchanged for the next seventy years.
In 1975, the Institute of Arbitrators
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is a London based membership organisation for arbitrators for the promotion and facilitation of dispute resolution...
(later the Chartered Institute) joined the other two administering bodies and the earlier arbitration committee became the Joint Management Committee, reduced in size from the original twenty four members to eighteen, six representatives from each of the three organisations. The Director of the Institute of Arbitrators became the Registrar of the London Court of Arbitration.
In 1981, the name of the Court was changed to The London Court of International Arbitration, to reflect the nature of its work, which was, by that time, predominantly international.
Current operations and administration
The LCIA remains one of the bigger permanent international arbitration institutions today. It promulgates its own rules and procedures, which are frequently adopted in ad hoc arbitrations even where the LCIA itself is not involved.The LCIA is formed as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
. The LCIA Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
(made up largely of prominent London-based arbitration practitioners) is concerned with the operation and development of the LCIA's business and with its compliance with applicable company law.
The Board does not have an active role in the administration of dispute resolution procedures, though it does maintain a proper interest in the conduct of the LCIA's administrative function.
The LCIA Court is the final authority for the proper application of the LCIA Rules. Its key functions are appointing tribunals, determining challenges to arbitrators, and controlling costs.
Although the LCIA Court meets regularly in plenary session, most of the functions to be performed by it under LCIA rules and procedures are performed, on its behalf, by the President, by a Vice President or by a Division of the Court.
The Court is made up of up to thirty five members, selected to provide and maintain a balance of leading practitioners in commercial arbitration, from the major trading areas of the world, and of whom no more than six may be of UK nationality.
Among other parties, the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement between the United States and Canada establishes a dispute settlement mechanism based around the LCIA for the two parties' international trade issues regarding softwood lumber.
Secretariat
Headed by the Registrar, the LCIA Secretariat is based at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of all disputes referred to the LCIA.LCIA case administration is highly flexible. All cases are allocated dedicated computer and hard-copy files and computerised account ledgers. Every case is computer-monitored, but the level of administrative support adapts to the needs and wishes of the parties and the tribunal (or ADR neutral), and to the circumstances of each case.
Because of confidentiality
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions . In ethics, and in law and alternative forms of legal resolution such as mediation, some types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to...
laws, the LCIA does not publish facts or statistics about the matters it adjudicates upon.