DOCDEX

RULES

ICC Rules for Documentary Instruments

Dispute Resolution Expertise

In force as from 1 May 2015

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ICC DOCDEX RULES

PREAMBLE

The DOCDEX Rules (the “Rules”) of the International

Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC”) are for use in
proceedings called Documentary Instruments Dispute
Resolution Expertise (“DOCDEX”), which are
administered by the ICC International Centre for ADR
(the “Centre”), a separate administrative body within
the ICC.

ARTICLE 1

Definitions
In the Rules:
“Appendix” means the Appendix entitled “Fees and
Costs” set out hereinafter and at www.iccdocdex.org,
where it may from time to time be updated.
“Appointed Experts” means a panel of three experts
and “Appointed Expert” any member of that panel
appointed by the Centre, having regard to the guidance
provided by the Technical Adviser pursuant to Article
7(4), to render a Decision as defined below.
“Banking Commission” means the ICC Banking
Commission.
“Claimant”/“Claimants” means a party or parties that
submit(s) a Claim to the Centre in the manner described
in Article 3 for a Decision as defined below.
“Decision” means the final decision rendered by the
Appointed Experts pursuant to Article 9.
“Form” means one of the four forms set out hereinafter,
available to download at www.iccdocdex.org.
“ICC Banking Rules” means any set of rules or standard
practices issued from time to time by the Banking
Commission, such as the ICC Uniform Customs and
Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP), the ICC
Uniform Rules for Bank-to-Bank Reimbursements
under Documentary Credits (URR), the ICC Uniform
Rules for Collections (URC) and the ICC Uniform Rules
for Demand Guarantees (URDG).
“Respondent”/”Respondents” means a party or parties
named as such in the Claim.

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“Technical Adviser” means one of the Banking
Commission’s technical advisers or alternate technical
advisers appointed by the Chair of the Banking
Commission to provide guidance as indicated in Articles
2(1), 7(3) and 7(4) and comments on any draft Decision
of the Appointed Experts as indicated in Article 9(2).

ARTICLE 2

Scope
1 
The Rules are available for any dispute which the
Centre, in consultation with the Technical Adviser
and subject to Articles 2(2) and 2(3) of the Rules,
may agree to administer and which relates to:
• a documentary credit,
• a standby letter of credit,
• a bank-to-bank reimbursement,
• a collection,
• a demand guarantee or counter-guarantee,
• a forfaiting transaction,
• a bank payment obligation (BPO), or
• a
 ny other trade finance-related instrument,
undertaking or agreement.
2 
When a dispute falling within the scope of Article 2(1)
of the Rules arises, a party may refer the dispute to
the Rules to obtain an independent, impartial and
prompt expert decision on the basis of the terms and
conditions of the relevant instrument, undertaking or
agreement, any applicable ICC Banking Rules and
international standard practice in trade finance.
3 If the dispute arises out of or is in connection with an
instrument, undertaking or agreement that does not
provide for the application of ICC Banking Rules, it
shall be administered under the Rules only if each
Claimant and each Respondent so agree. Their
agreement shall be recorded on Forms 1 and 2.

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4 
The Rules provide for expedited proceedings, with
no opportunity for the oral examination of fact or
expert witnesses or for oral submissions at a hearing.
Accordingly, the Rules are not appropriate where
such examination or submissions are required to
resolve any factual or legal issues raised by the Claim.
5 
Proceedings under the Rules are not arbitral
proceedings and a Decision is not an arbitral award.
6 
A Decision shall not be binding on any Claimant or
Respondent unless each Claimant and Respondent
agrees that the Decision shall be contractually
binding upon them. Any such agreement shall be
recorded on Forms 1 and 2.

ARTICLE 3

Claim
1 
A Claimant shall apply for a Decision by submitting a
claim to the Centre using Form 1 (the “Claim”). The
Claim shall be accompanied by all documents that
the Claimant considers necessary to support its
Claim. The Claim and all accompanying documents
shall be supplied to the Centre in electronic form,
together with one hard copy for each Respondent.
2 
A Claimant may submit a Claim individually or jointly
with one or more other Claimants.
3 
At the time of submitting a Claim, the Claimant shall
pay the fee specified in the Appendix.
4 
Subject to Article 3(6) of the Rules, the Centre shall
acknowledge receipt of the Claim and the fee to the
Claimant.
5 
Subject to Article 3(6) of the Rules, once the Centre
has received the electronic and hard copies of the
Claim and the fee, it shall send a hard copy of the
Claim and any accompanying documents to each
Respondent identified in the Claim for its Answer, as
provided in Article 11(1) of the Rules.

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6 
If the Centre finds a Claim or part of a Claim to be
outside the scope of the Rules, or considers in its
discretion that the administration of a Claim or part
of a Claim would not be in the spirit of the Rules, the
Centre may reject all or part of that Claim at any time,
before or after acknowledging receipt, and in such
event shall so inform the Claimant and any
Respondent to which the Centre has sent a copy of
the Claim. The Centre shall also refund all or part of
any fee received pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Rules,
as appropriate.
7 
In considering whether or not to reject a Claim or
part of a Claim prior to the appointment of the
Appointed Experts, the Centre may seek guidance
from the Technical Adviser pursuant to Articles 2(1)
and 7(3) of the Rules. Following the appointment of
the Appointed Experts, the Centre shall reject a
Claim or part of a Claim if informed by a majority of
the Appointed Experts pursuant to Article 8(3) that
they consider it to be outside the scope of the Rules.

ARTICLE 4

Answer
1 
A Respondent may submit an answer to a Claim (the
“Answer”) using Form 2. The Answer, if any, shall be
accompanied by any additional documents that the
Respondent considers necessary to support its
Answer.
2 
The Answer and all accompanying documents shall
be supplied to the Centre only in electronic form in
accordance with Article 11(2) of the Rules. The Centre
shall forward the Answer and any accompanying
documents to the Claimant and any other
Respondent.
3 
A Respondent may submit its Answer individually or
jointly with one or more other Respondents.
4 
An Answer must be received by the Centre within the
period it specifies when sending the Claim to each
Respondent, which shall not exceed 30 days, save
exceptional circumstances. Any Answer received by
the Centre after the expiry of the specified period
shall be disregarded.
5 I f a Respondent does not submit an Answer, the
proceedings shall nonetheless continue.

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ARTICLE 5

Supplementary Information and Additional Documents

1 
The Centre may request a Claimant or Respondent to
submit supplementary information or copies of
documents that the Centre considers relevant to the
rendering of a Decision, whereupon such information
or documents shall be submitted using Form 3 (the
“Supplement”).
2 
A Supplement shall be submitted to the Centre
within 14 days of its request, in electronic form only.
The Centre shall forward the Supplement to each
Claimant and Respondent.
3 
A Supplement shall be submitted to the Centre only
in response to a request from the Centre. Any
unsolicited submission made to the Centre by any
Claimant or Respondent shall be disregarded. The
Centre may, at its discretion, accede to a request
from a Claimant or Respondent for permission to
make a new or additional submission, whereupon
such submission shall be supplied in the form of
a Supplement within the period indicated by
the Centre.
4 
No submission by any person other than a Claimant
or Respondent shall be admitted in the proceedings
and any such submission received by the Centre shall
be disregarded.

ARTICLE 6

Filing and Finality of Submissions

1 
In addition to the requirements set out in Articles
3(1), 4(1) and 5(1) of the Rules with regard to the form
of a Claim, Answer and Supplement, the Centre may
require any document to be submitted in hard copy
or for the electronic copy to be submitted in a
particular electronic form.
2 
All fields in the relevant Form shall be completed
concisely, in English, and shall contain all necessary
information clearly presented.

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3 
If a document accompanying a Claim, Answer or
Supplement contains data not drafted in English, it
shall be accompanied by an English translation,
unless the Centre agrees otherwise in writing.
4 
A Claim, Answer and Supplement shall be considered
final as received and may not be amended.

ARTICLE 7

Appointment of Experts
1 
The Banking Commission maintains a list of experts
(the “List”) having experience in, and knowledge of,
trade finance transactions. The Chair of the Banking
Commission is the repository of the List and can add or
remove experts from the List at any time, as need be.
2 
The Centre shall transmit a copy of the Claim to the
Technical Adviser after verifying the Technical
Adviser’s independence with respect to the parties
referred to in the Claim.
3 
The Technical Adviser shall, if requested, offer
guidance to the Centre on whether the Claim falls
within the scope of the Rules.
4 
The Technical Adviser shall also provide guidance on
the area(s) of expertise that the Claim requires and
that the Appointed Experts should possess. Having
regard to this guidance, the Centre shall make the
appointments and designate one of
the Appointed Experts to act as president
(the “President”).
5 
Each Appointed Expert must be and remain
impartial and independent of the parties involved in
the dispute.
6 
An Appointed Expert shall not act or have acted, nor
shall any Claimant or Respondent seek to have an
Appointed Expert act, in any judicial, arbitral or
similar proceedings relating to the dispute that is or
was the subject of proceedings under the Rules,
whether as a judge, an arbitrator, an expert or fact
witness, or a representative or adviser.

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7 
Before any appointment, prospective Appointed
Experts shall sign a statement of acceptance,
availability, impartiality and independence and shall
disclose in writing to the Centre any facts or
circumstances which might be of such a nature as to
call into question their independence in the eyes of
any Claimant or Respondent, as well as any
circumstances that could give rise to reasonable
doubts as to their impartiality. The Centre shall take
any such disclosure into account before making the
appointment.
8 
An Appointed Expert shall immediately disclose in
writing to the Centre any facts or circumstances of a
similar nature to those referred to in Article 7(7) of
the Rules concerning the Appointed Expert’s
impartiality or independence which may arise during
the proceedings.
9 
By accepting to serve, an Appointed Expert
undertakes to carry out the Appointed Expert’s
responsibilities in accordance with the Rules.
10 An Appointed Expert who becomes unable to carry
out the functions entrusted by the Centre shall so
inform the Centre without delay. When the Centre
deems that an Appointed Expert is unable to carry
out the Appointed Expert’s role under the Rules, it
shall immediately give notice of termination to such
Appointed Expert. The Centre shall inform the other
Appointed Experts of such termination and make
another appointment from the List.
11 
Upon receipt of a notice of termination, an Appointed
Expert shall promptly dispose of any documents
received from the Centre in an appropriate manner
as agreed with the Centre.

ARTICLE 8

The Proceedings
1 
Unless the Centre has rejected the Claim pursuant to
Article 3(6) of the Rules, the Centre shall transmit the
Claim, any Answer and any Supplement(s) to the
Appointed Experts.
2 
When considered necessary by the Appointed
Experts, the President may ask the Centre to request
any Claimant or Respondent to submit a Supplement
in accordance with Article 5 of the Rules.

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3 
If the Appointed Experts consider that the Claim is
outside the scope of the Rules, they shall so inform
the Centre, which shall reject the Claim pursuant to
Article 3(6) of the Rules.
4 
Notwithstanding any disagreement between the
Claimant and Respondent as to whether the Claim
falls within the scope of the Rules, the Appointed
Experts shall continue with the proceedings and
render a Decision to the extent that they consider the
Claim to fall within the scope of the Rules.
5 
Following deliberations among the Appointed
Experts, the President shall prepare and submit to
the Centre a draft of the Decision for scrutiny
pursuant to Article 9(2) of the Rules. The draft
Decision shall be submitted within 30 days of receipt
by the Appointed Experts of all information and
documents they consider necessary for determining
the issues in dispute.
6 
In exceptional circumstances, and upon a reasoned
request submitted by the President, the Centre may
extend the time limit for the Appointed Experts to
render their draft Decision.
7 
There shall be no oral hearing before the Appointed
Experts.

ARTICLE 9

The Decision
1 
The Decision shall be drafted in English using
Form 4.
2 
Upon receipt of the draft Decision from the
President, the Centre shall transmit it forthwith to the
Technical Adviser for scrutiny. The Technical Adviser
may lay down modifications as to the form of the
draft Decision and, without affecting the Appointed
Experts’ liberty of decision, may also draw their
attention to points of substance. No Decision shall be
rendered by the Appointed Experts until it has been
approved by the Technical Adviser as to its form.
3 
The Decision may be made unanimously or on a
majority basis and shall so indicate.
4 
The Decision shall be deemed to have been made on
the date stated therein.

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5 
The Appointed Experts shall render the Decision
exclusively on the basis of the Claim, any Answer and
any Supplement, the terms and conditions of the
trade finance-related instrument, undertaking or
agreement, the ICC Banking Rules that may be
applicable and international standard practice in
trade finance.
6 
Once a Decision has been made, the Centre shall
make it available to each Claimant and to any
Respondent that has submitted an Answer pursuant
to Article 4 of the Rules.

ARTICLE 10

Costs
1 
The costs of the DOCDEX proceedings shall be the
standard fee set out in the Appendix. The standard
fee shall be non-refundable, unless the Centre rejects
all or part of the Claim pursuant to Article 3(6) of
the Rules.
2 
An additional fee may be fixed by the Centre, at
its discretion, taking into account the facts and
documents underlying the dispute and subject
to the maximum specified in Article 2 of the
Appendix.
3 
The Centre shall fix a time limit for the payment of the
additional fee. The Centre may instruct the
Appointed Experts to suspend their work until the
additional fee has been paid.

ARTICLE 11

Notifications or Communications; Time Limits

1 
A hard copy of the Claim shall be sent by the Centre
to each Respondent pursuant to Article 3(5) of the
Rules. It shall be sent by delivery against receipt,
registered post or courier to the address of the
Respondent provided by the Claimant in the Claim.
2 
Subject to Article 11(1) of the Rules, all notifications or
communications to and from the Centre shall be
made by email or by any other means of
telecommunications, excluding fax, that provides a
record of the sending thereof. Such notifications or
communications shall be made to the last email or

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 other electronic address of the Claimant or
Respondent, or its representative for whom the same
are intended, as notified for this purpose by the party
in question. If the Respondent fails to notify the
Centre of an email or other electronic address, then
the Centre may use the address for the Respondent
that is provided by the Claimant.
3 
A notification or communication shall be deemed
to have been made on the day it was received by
the Claimant or Respondent itself or by its
representative, or would have been received if made
in accordance with Article 11(2) of the Rules.
4 
Periods of time specified in or fixed under the Rules
shall start to run on the day following the date a
notification or communication is deemed to have
been made in accordance with Article 11(3) of the
Rules. When the day following such date is an official
holiday or a non-business day in the country where
the notification or communication is deemed to have
been made, the period of time shall commence on
the first following business day. Official holidays and
non-business days are included in the calculation of
the period of time. If the last day of the relevant
period of time granted is an official holiday or a
non‑business day in the country where the
notification or communication is deemed to have
been made, the period of time shall expire at the end
of the first following business day.

ARTICLE 12

General
1 
The Centre may authorize the publication of any
Decision, provided that the identities of each
Claimant, Respondent and any other person or entity
named in the Claim, Answer or any Supplement are
not disclosed.
2 
Any information or documents given by the Centre
to the Technical Adviser or the Appointed Experts in
connection with proceedings under the Rules shall
be used by the Technical Adviser and the Appointed
Experts only for the purpose of such proceedings
and shall be treated by them, as well as by the Centre,
as confidential.

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3 
The Centre, the Technical Adviser and the Appointed
Experts shall not reveal the identities of the
Appointed Experts and the Technical Adviser to any
Claimant, Respondent or other person.
4 
In all matters not expressly provided for in the Rules,
the Technical Adviser, the Appointed Experts and
the Centre shall act in the spirit of the Rules.
5 
The Technical Adviser, the Appointed Experts, the
Centre, the ICC and its employees, and the ICC
National Committees and Groups and their
employees and representatives shall not be liable to
any person for any act or omission in connection with
any proceedings or Decision under the Rules, except
to the extent such limitation of liability is prohibited
by applicable law.
6 
The version of the Rules that is applicable at the time
of submission of a Claim shall apply to the
proceedings, unless otherwise agreed by each
Claimant and Respondent.

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ICC DOCDEX RULES
APPENDIX – FEES AND COSTS

1. Standard Fee
Where the amount in dispute does not exceed
US$ 1,000,000, the standard fee is US$ 5,000, which
includes the Centre’s administrative expenses and
the Appointed Experts’ fees. For all amounts in
dispute exceeding US$ 1,000,000, the standard fee is
US$ 10,000.
2. Additional Fee
As indicated in Article 10(2) of the Rules, the Centre
may charge an additional fee of up to 50% of the
standard fee.
3. Payment
Payment shall be made by bank transfer to the account
of the International Chamber of Commerce shown
below, carrying the reference “DOCDEX case”.
UBS AG
Bahnhofstrasse 45
8098 Zurich
Switzerland
Swift code: UBSWCHZH80A
IBAN: CH06 0024 0240 2245 3461 R
At the time of payment, an advice in writing should be
sent to:
ICC International Centre for ADR
33-43 avenue du Président Wilson
75116 Paris, France
[email protected]
stating the following data:
– DOCDEX case number (if known to the Claimant)
– Date of Claim
– Name of Claimant
– Date and amount of payment
– Postal address

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APPENDIX – FEES AND COSTS

4. Currency, VAT and Scope

1 All amounts fixed by the Centre or pursuant to the
Rules and the Appendix are payable in US dollars
except were prohibited by law, in which case the ICC
may apply a different scale and fee arrangement in
another currency.
2 
Any standard or additional fee may be subject to
value added tax (VAT) or charges of a similar nature
at the prevailing rate.
3 
The above provisions on the costs of proceedings
shall be effective as of 1 May 2015 in respect of all
proceedings commenced on or after such date
under the present or any previous version of the
ICC DOCDEX Rules.

5. Disclaimer
This Appendix is subject to change without notice. Please
refer to www.iccdocdex.org for the current version.

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