ABSTRACT
International commercial transactions and disputes are increasingly multi-party in nature, and a significant number of disputes referred to arbitration involve more than two parties. In examining the institutional provisions governing complex arbitrations, it is important to bear in mind the distinction between administration of the procedure, on the one hand, and jurisdiction, on the other. Both the institutional rules on complex arbitrations and the decisions the institution is called upon to make in applying them are intended to organise the proceedings and regulate the parties' participation therein. Express provisions dealing comprehensively with complex arbitrations were included for the first time in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Rules in 2012. Articles 7—10 of the Rules reflect the ICC Court practices in administering cases involving multi-party and multi-contract issues. A request for joinder should be sent to the Secretariat team in charge of the case file and not directly to the additional party.
