The ICC Court’s Scrutiny Function under Article 34 of the 2021 Arbitration Rules A Quality-Control Mechanism and Its Impact on Award Enforceability

Abstract

The scrutiny of draft awards by the International Court of Arbitration (ICC Court) constitutes one of the
most distinctive institutional features of ICC arbitration. Rooted in Article 34 of the 2021 ICC Arbitration
Rules—a provision whose lineage traces back to the earliest codification of ICC procedure—scrutiny
functions as a mandatory quality-control gateway through which no award may pass until approved by
the ICC Court. Adopting a doctrinal research approach, this article analyses the legal and regulatory
framework governing the ICC scrutiny mechanism, its operative scope, and its demonstrable impact on
the enforceability of arbitral awards in domestic and transnational jurisdictions.
The article argues that scrutiny performs a dual function: it operates as a formal-quality safeguard and,
simultaneously, as a substantive-pointing instrument that draws the arbitral tribunal’s attention to points
of law and reasoning without encroaching upon its decisional liberty. Considering the 2026 ICC
Arbitration Rules—effective 1 June 2026—which expressly extend the Court’s scrutiny mandate to
encompass the validity and enforceability of awards, this article further contends that scrutiny is no
longer merely procedural housekeeping but is now a proactive enforceability-assurance mechanism of
considerable institutional significance. Comparative analysis with the LCIA, SIAC, and HKIAC
frameworks reveals that ICC scrutiny occupies a structurally unique position among institutional
arbitration rules.