The Rights to Access to Justice and Fair Trial before the International Chamber of Commerce

Abstract

The rights to access justice and to have a fair trial are enshrined and safeguarded in various international human Rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Founded at Paris-France in 1923, the International Chamber of Commerce is one of the oldest commercial organizations harbouring an international arbitration jurisdiction known as the International Court of Arbitration (ICA). The ICA stands apart from other institutions in its ability to handle even the most complicated disputes involving large sums of money, while appraising the competence of its arbitrators, flexibility, and efficiency in its hearings and of timeliness in the delivery of its arbitral sentence. Luis Alfonso writes in this regard that the International Chamber of Commerce possesses the necessary facilities and capable personnel to run arbitration in a fairly efficient way. It is in consideration of these elements that we would pose the question does the arbitration system within the International Chamber of Commerce effectively safeguard the rights to access to justice and a fair trial in its court? A content analysis of the 2021 ICC Rules will enable one to determine whether the guarantee of the right to access justice and the right to a fair trial within the ICC’s arbitral system is effective.