Institutional and arbitrators’ fees
Click here to go the ICC’s cost calculator. Type in the amount at issue and the number of arbitrators, identify the costs scale in force at the time the Request for Arbitration is received by the ICC Secretariat, and it will give you the range of arbitrators’ fees and the ICC’s own costs. Thus, if the amount at stake is $1 million and you use one arbitrator, under the 2017 cost scale (and the 2021 scale) the range of the arbitrator's fees will be between $14,627 and $64,130, depending upon the complexity of the case (though in single-arbitrator cases the ICC may charge a higher rate than it will charge for each arbitrator in a three-arbitrator case). The ICC’s fees will be $23,335. In cases where the ICC's expedited procedure is applied (see ICC for more) there is a moderate reduction in the scale applied to the arbitrators' fees, whilst those of the ICC itself remain on the same scale.
These costs are fixed by the ICC Court. In exceptional cases, it may charge higher or lower amounts than those given.
The ICC is prepared to reduce arbitrators’ fees in the event of unjustified delay in the delivery of an award and has issued guidance setting out the circumstances in which it would be prepared to take such action, and indicating the % reductions it would usually consider applying. See Section IX of this ICC Guidance Note for more. The ICC has also published a report looking into current approaches and practices in relation to decisions on costs in international arbitration.
For other institutions in civil law countries, see the discussion under seat, and the web sites of the various institutions mentioned there and listed under External Links.
By contrast, the LCIA’s own charges are:
- a registration fee of £1,950:
- an hourly rate for time spent by the registrar (or their deputy) and the secretariat (of £300/285/220 or 190 dependent on seniority)
- 5% of the arbitrators’ fees in respect of the LCIA's general overheads, and
- expenses.
In LCIA arbitrations the arbitrators’ fees are based on the arbitrators’ hourly rate, taking into account particular circumstances of the case, including its complexity and the special qualifications of the arbitrators. In general, the arbitrators’ hourly rate shall not exceed £650, though it may exceed that threshold in exceptional cases.
Click here to go to the LCIA’s Arbitration Rules and Schedule of Costs.
In 2017, the LCIA released an analysis on the average cost and duration of all cases under the LCIA rules that reached a final award in the period between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2016. The LCIA's analysis can be found here.
UNCITRAL and stand-alone arbitrations
Arbitrators in an arbitration under the UNCITRAL rules, or a stand-alone arbitration, will charge fees agreed with the parties. For international arbitrations, the rates quoted above for LCIA arbitrations are fairly typical for both common and civil law arbitrators - indeed, if anything they are on the low side.
If an institution is called upon to appoint an arbitrator, it will charge a flat fee for the service ($5,000-$10,000 for the ICC; £1,950 for the LCIA, although additional fees may be incurred in arranging the appointment or if, for example, there is a challenge to the arbitrator). The LCIA will administer such an arbitration at similar rates as under its own rules. In respect of the ICC, it will either charge fixed costs for certain enumerated services (whilst determining for itself the additional cost of any services going beyond the same, or the parties can opt to pay a lump sum of $90,000-$150,000 (to be fixed by the ICC) to cover a range of services, with any additional costs being fixed by the ICC.
Comparisons
Comparing the likely costs of an ICC and an LCIA arbitration is clearly difficult. But let us assume a $1 million arbitration, before a single arbitrator. If not too complex, it might involve two half-day directions hearings and a two-day final hearing. With preparation time, correspondence and writing the award, the arbitrator might spend nine days on the matter:
- on the LCIA’s scale, assuming that the highest hourly rate permitted under the LCIA Rules is applied to the arbitrator’s fees, this results in an average daily fee of approximately £4550, resulting in total fees for the arbitrator’s time of about $50,000. The LCIA’s own fees are likely to be less than $8,000, while
- on the ICC’s scale, the arbitrator’s fees will be between $14,627 and $64,130 (or between $11,702 and $51,304 in a case in which the ICC's expedited procedure is applied), depending upon the complexity of the case. The ICC’s fees will be $23,335.
Of course, different cases will produce different comparisons.
In a stand-alone arbitration you save the costs of the administering institution (though you may still have to pay the appointment fee if the parties cannot agree on the arbitrator(s)). But the arbitrators’ own fees may be higher, and they and the parties’ lawyers may spend some time on administrative matters which in an institutional arbitration the secretariat would have handled.
Who pays?
It is normal, both under the leading institutional rules and under most national arbitration laws, for arbitrators to have the power to order that the costs of the arbitrators and the institution should be paid by the losing party.
Note: all references to the LCIA’s fees, above, are by reference to its revised schedule of costs/fee levels effective 1 December 2023.