Arbitration is often praised as a faster route to dispute resolution than state court litigation. Expedited arbitration proceedings – such as those offered by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – promise an even more streamlined resolution of disputes.

The result sounds appealing: The ICC reports in its ICC Dispute Resolution 2025 Statistics that of the total number of final awards rendered under the ICC's Expedited Procedure Provisions (EPP) in 2025, almost two-thirds (65 %) were delivered on or around the time limit of six months from the first case management conference.

Under the newly issued 2026 ICC Arbitration Rules, the ICC lifted the threshold value for the automatic application of the EPP from USD 3 million to USD 4 million for disputes arising out of arbitration agreements concluded on or after 1 June 2026. According to the ICC Dispute Resolution 2025 Statistics, a considerable 41 % of new cases did not exceed this USD 4 million threshold in 2025.

Should this expansion of the EPP's applicability be welcomed as a boost in efficiency? The answer may need to be more nuanced. 

Yes, the EPP are designed to increase efficiency in ICC arbitration. They aim to do so in different ways. One such way is by allowing the ICC International Court of Arbitration to appoint a single arbitrator regardless of whether the parties' agreement provides for a three-arbitrator panel. This facilitates a faster constitution of the arbitral tribunal, but also potentially renders moot the parties' decision that each side may appoint an arbitrator. Another example is that the EPP expressly vest the arbitral tribunal with the discretionary power not to allow requests for document production or to limit written submissions. Within this framework, a well-prepared claimant may have an easier time making its case than a respondent who did not even necessarily expect the initiation of arbitration proceedings.

Against this background, parties considering ICC arbitration clauses should keep in mind that – unlike the ICC's newly introduced Highly Expedited Arbitration Provisions – the EPP can currently apply in ICC arbitration proceedings whether or not the parties have actively chosen the EPP's application. Rather, parties seeking to avoid the EPP need to agree to opt out of them. This awareness has become even more important, now that the ICC has expanded the EPP's applicability.