Costs in international arbitration

This Practice Note discusses the types of costs that can be incurred in international arbitration proceedings and considers practical steps that can be taken to assist with the recovery of costs. It covers the costs incurred in the arbitration (legal fees and disbursements and costs of the arbitration, including the tribunal’s fees), allocation and recoverability of costs and the award on costs. It also covers security for costs and links out to further content on this subject.

See Practice Note: Costs in international arbitration.

Fees of the arbitral institutions

This Practice Note sets out the fees incurred in arbitration under key institutional rules including International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Singapore international Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), China International Economic Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and Swiss Arbitration Centre (SAC). This Practice Note also covers links to cost calculators provided by the various institutions to estimate the cost of arbitral proceedings under their Rules.

See Practice Note:

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Latest Arbitration News

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Mealey’s: A US District Court for the District of Columbia judge on 18 February 2025 granted the Republic of Guinea’s motion to set aside default entered against it and to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction a telecommunications company’s action to enforce an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award worth than US$21m after finding that Guinea was not a party to the underlying arbitration agreement.

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Stay of application for injunction in favour of Arbitration (Hunt v IPS Law LLP and Others)

Arbitration analysis: The claimant, Mr Hunt, invested £1.05m in January 2023 through IPS Law LLP (‘IPS Law’), the second defendant, which was meant to hold the funds for the first defendant, Oceania Capital Reserves Ltd (‘Oceania’). IPS Law later apparently transferred the funds, but the circumstances in which that occurred (and the instructions on which IPS Law and its principal, Mr Farnell, the third defendant, relied) were unclear. Mr Hunt applied for an injunction to preserve the funds in IPS Law’s account. The defendants, in return, applied for a stay of the proceedings, arguing that the Investment Agreement between Mr Hunt and Oceania (with IPS Law as the ‘Investment Escrow Party’) referred disputes to arbitration. The court held that IPS Law was not a party to the arbitration clause and could not rely upon it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999) (Mr Farnell accepted he was not a party). The court decided, however, that there was a serious issue to be tried in relation to the handling of Mr Hunt’s funds and accordingly granted a proprietary injunction. The case addresses issues over the court’s jurisdiction to order a stay under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) and its ability to order relief where funds held in a solicitors’ client account have been paid away apparently without instruction. Written by Oliver Browne, partner, at Paul Hastings (Europe) LLP.

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