Rules

(Provisionally adopted 21 July 2025 pending first General Meeting)

The International Construction Arbitrators Association

1 | Name and Address

The Association shall be called The International Construction Arbitrators Association. Its address shall be at The Grove, 24 Lower Teddington Road, KT1 4HJ or at such other place as the Committee shall determine.

2 | Objects

(a) To promote the use of highly experienced international construction specialists as arbitrators in international construction arbitration.

(b) To provide the international construction industry with a source of such arbitrators.

(c) To bring on the next generation of international construction arbitrators and thereby to encourage younger arbitrators.

(d) To advance and encourage the professional knowledge of international construction arbitrators and by recommendation and advice to assist the expeditious procedure and disposal of disputes.

(e) To keep Members informed of developments in arbitration and international construction law and for that purpose to hold seminars and other meetings, circulate newsletters, etc.

(f) To take any action which at any time may seem advisable to uphold and vindicate the prestige and impartiality of its Members and of international construction arbitrations; and to protect its Members in connection with their activities as arbitrators.

(g) To act as the representative of the Members of the Association in all discussions and any negotiations or dealings with authorities, organisations, institutes, companies, firms and persons engaged in or connected with international construction arbitration.

(h) When so requested or required to appoint arbitrators.

(i) At the request of any party to any dispute to recommend any Member or Members for appointment as arbitrators.

(j) To promote the reputation of the Association to actual and potential users of international construction arbitration, including by the organisation of seminars on arbitration and legal subjects anywhere in the world.

(k) Generally to do all such things as in the judgement of the Committee or of the members of the Association may be necessary or convenient for the attainment of the above objects or any of them.

3 | Membership

Membership of the Association shall initially be divided into the following categories:

(a) Full Members;
(b) Emeritus Members;

Each category of membership shall have the rights and be subject to the restrictions and obligations hereinafter mentioned.

4 | Full Members

Full membership shall be restricted to those persons who in the opinion of the Committee are qualified by reason of their professional qualifications and/or their practical experience and training to act as arbitrators in international construction cases. Persons may be invited to Full membership subject to such restrictions as the Committee may in its absolute discretion impose. The initial annual subscription for a Full Member will be £200.

4a | Emeritus Members

Arbitrators over the age of 75 when invited to join the Association will be invited to join as Emeritus Members. Full Members who turn 75 will be promoted to Emeritus Members at the start of the next membership year. Emeritus Members may attend General Meetings but will not have voting rights. Committee Members who turn 75 will retire from the Committee at the next AGM unless they are serving as President or Honorary Secretary in which case they will remain in office until the expiry of their term. The initial annual subscription for an Emeritus Member will be £100.

5 | Supporting Members

Supporting Members shall be those who are in sympathy with and wish to lend their support to the achievement of the objects of the Association. The initial annual subscription for a Supporting Member will be £50.

Supporting Members shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(a) they shall not be eligible for election to membership of the Committee;

(b) they shall pay an annual subscription which shall be less than those payable by Full Members which shall be fixed in the manner prescribed by Rule 13; and

(c) any reference to membership of the Association on notepaper or other writing shall make it clear that they are Supporting as opposed to Full Members.

6 | Other Categories of Membership

At the recommendation of the Committee, other categories of membership may be created by a simple majority of Full Members present at a General Meeting.

7 | Resignations and Retired Members

Any Member wishing to resign his/her membership shall give written notice to the Honorary Secretary on or before 31st May in any year; otherwise he/she shall be liable to pay his/her subscription in respect of the then current year.

8 | Management

The business of the Association shall be managed by a Committee. The Committee may exercise (a) the powers and authorities expressly conferred on them by these Rules and (b) all the powers and authorities of the Association save only those which by these Rules are expressly required to be exercised by the Association in General Meeting. In particular the Committee may engage staff, including an Executive Secretary, and use the funds of the Association to pay for the running of the Association and such other matters as may be needed to achieve the objects of the Association as set out in Rule 2, including obtaining legal or other professional advice and assistance on any matter concerning or relating to international construction arbitration, the affairs of the Association or the rights and liabilities of any Full Member on any occasion when the Committee consider that it is necessary or advisable so to do.

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Committee may borrow and raise money and accept money on deposit. It may also secure or discharge any debt or obligation of or binding on the Association, in particular by mortgaging or charging all or any part of the Association’s property and assets present or future or by the creation and issue of securities of any description, on such terms as may be thought expedient.

The Committee may authorise an annual allowance of expenditure by the President and/or Members participating in events in respect of travel, entertainment or such other matters as the Committee considers appropriate in furtherance of the objects of the Association, in particular, training and marketing.

The Committee may further delegate any of its functions to the Honorary Secretary of the Association, on such terms as it deems appropriate, and the Honorary Secretary may, as he/she deems appropriate, carry out such delegated functions by himself/herself or by others, but under his/her supervision. The Honorary Secretary may also, if necessary, appoint a deputy to attend meetings as set out in Rule 11.

The Committee may also authorise the Honorary Secretary, or the Executive Secretary, if one has been appointed, to make payments on its behalf, subject to such limits as it may from time to time impose. It may authorise the Honorary Secretary to apply for and hold cheque guarantee, debit and credit cards in the name of the Association in such amounts as it may direct and undertake transactions by means of online banking. The Committee may authorise the opening and operating of such bank accounts as it considers necessary for the proper running of the Association and give such undertakings as may be necessary for this purpose. It shall also nominate authorised signatories for such accounts.

9 | The Committee and Sub-committees

Until the Association’s first General Meeting which will be held within 12 months of the formation of the Association, the members of the Steering Committee shall fulfil the functions of the Committee and the Chair of the Steering Committee shall fulfil the functions of the President. The Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee will fulfil the functions of the Honorary Secretary. All members of the Committee will be elected at the first General Meeting. Members of the Steering Committee will be eligible for election if nominated in accordance with Rule 10.

The Committee shall consist of not more than six Full Members of the Association elected in accordance with Rule 10. In addition the two Immediate Past Presidents of the Association shall be entitled to attend Committee meetings but not to vote, unless they are also elected Members of the Committee.

The Committee shall elect from those elected to the Committee a President who shall normally hold office for a period of two years or such other period as shall be agreed by a simple majority of the Committee at any point prior to the expiry of that two year term. The Committee may also elect a Vice President. It shall appoint an Honorary Secretary (who need not be a Member of the Committee). He/she shall also act as Honorary Treasurer. The Committee may also appoint such other honorary and paid officers, including an Executive Secretary, as it may think appropriate.

In connection with the discharge of the objects stated in Rule 2(j), the Committee shall have the power to spend such of the funds of the Association as in its absolute discretion it shall deem necessary for these purposes, such expenditure being separately audited in the annual accounts, and the reason for and result of such expenditure shall be dealt with in the Report of the President for the previous year at the Association’s Annual General Meeting

The Committee shall meet at such times as it shall think fit and in person wherever possible. Three Members shall constitute a quorum. The President, or in his/her absence the Vice-President if appointed, or failing him/her a Member of the Committee appointed by it, shall take the chair at all meetings of the Committee. The Committee shall normally decide all matters on a show of hands, and the chairman shall have a second or casting vote in the event of a tie.

Any Member of the Committee who shall absent himself/herself without sufficient reason from Committee meetings for a period exceeding six months shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.

The Committee has the right to co-opt at any time any Full Member as an additional Committee Member to serve for such purposes or for such time as the Committee may decide; but any such additional Committee Member shall retire in any event not later than the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting next after the date on which he/she was co-opted, but shall be eligible for election as a Member of the Committee or for further co-option. Such additional Committee Member shall not be entitled to vote.

The Committee may establish and dissolve sub-committees comprising at least one Member of the Committee, and other Members as determined by the Committee, for the purpose of examining and reporting to the Committee for specific purposes as resolved on by the Committee.

10 | Elections to the Committee

At the conclusion of each Annual General Meeting two elected Members of the Committee shall retire. The Members of the Committee to retire shall not include the President who may continue in office until his/her period in office expires, but shall be any other Member or Members who have attained the age of 75 or been longest in office since last elected. Where the number of Members due to retire as above is greater than the number required to retire, the Member or Members to retire shall be decided by agreement between them or failing agreement by lot. Any Member retiring shall be eligible for re-election provided that (i) a Member who has served on the Committee for six or more consecutive years (unless he/she is serving in the office of President or Vice-President) shall not again be eligible until after a break of two years and (ii) in the interests of continuity the Honorary Secretary (if a Member of the Committee) shall not be subject to retirement but shall hold office for such period as may be determined by the Committee.

Any Full Member may nominate up to two other Full Members for election to the Committee. Members so nominated shall declare in writing that they are willing to serve.

Written nominations for election to the Committee must be received by the Honorary Secretary not less than twenty-one days before the Annual General Meeting in each year save that in its absolute discretion, the Committee may accept late nominations.

11 | Honorary Secretary and Executive Secretary

The Honorary Secretary shall carry out such of the functions of the Committee as it may from time to time delegate to him/her, subject to such limits and such supervision as the Committee may impose.

The Honorary Secretary shall attend (in person or by deputy) all meetings of the Association and of the Committee and shall cause to be taken the minutes of the proceedings and shall present the minutes for confirmation at the following meeting.

The Honorary Secretary shall also cause to be kept proper accounts of the Association’s income and expenditure and assets and liabilities. He/she shall cause such accounts to be audited annually and he/she shall present such audited accounts to the members at the Annual General Meeting following the year of account. He/she shall also present for approval at each Annual General Meeting his/her estimates of the Association’s income and expenditure for the current year. He/she or his/her deputy shall not be entitled to vote at any meeting of the Committee unless a member of the Committee.

12 | Invitation of Members

Membership will be by invitation. Invitations require the agreement of two-thirds of the Committee. Invitations shall be at the absolute discretion of the Committee and the Committee shall in no circumstances be compellable to state its reasons for or against making an invitation.

Membership shall continue, subject to the provisions of these Rules, from year to year without need for further invitation.

13 | Subscription

The annual subscriptions for each category of Member shall be as stated above or such other sums as shall from time to time be recommended by the Committee and approved by the Association in General Meeting.

Subject as herein provided, subscriptions fall due on 1st June in each year, and shall be for the calendar year.

A Member who attains membership in any year shall become liable to pay his/her first annual subscription forthwith upon as acceptance of the invitation to become a member, but if he/she shall be invited on or after 1st November in any year his/her subscription shall also cover the next following year.

Subscriptions are payable by bank transfer, cheque or cash as shall be directed by the Honorary Secretary as Honorary Treasurer.

Any Member who shall not pay his/her subscription within three calendar months after the same shall fall due shall be required by the Honorary Secretary to pay the same, and if he/she fails to pay for one month thereafter his/her membership shall terminate forthwith, although such termination shall not disqualify him/her from making application for re-admission as a member on such terms as the Committee may decide.

14 | President's Appointments

Where the President or the Association receives a request to appoint or nominate an arbitrator, such appointments or nominations shall be made by the President personally. If the President anticipates that he/she may not be available to make such appointments or nominations, he/she may authorise the Vice-President (if one has been appointed) or a Past President to do so on his/her behalf in his/her absence. Notification to the parties of appointments or nominations may be made by or on behalf of the Honorary Secretary. The Association shall fix and publish a fee for this service. The Committee will fix the fee from time to time.

15 | Expulsion or Suspension of Members

A. On conviction of a criminal offence.
Should a Member of any category be convicted of a criminal offence involving dishonesty or of a criminal offence of any other nature susceptible of a sentence of imprisonment, the Committee may expel or suspend the Member or require him/her to resign; provided that before reaching any determination the Committee shall invite the Member to make representations in writing as to why he/she should not be expelled or suspended. The decision of the Committee shall be by a simple majority of those present and eligible to vote.

B. For discreditable or disreputable conduct.
Should a complaint be made to the Association in writing that a Full Member has committed conduct of such a nature that it is either discreditable to the Member or such as to bring the Association into disrepute or should any allegation or information to such effect come to the attention of the Association (hereinafter “the complaint”) the Committee may expel or suspend the Member or require him/her to resign; provided that before reaching any determination the Committee shall invite the Member to make representations in writing as to why he/she should not be expelled or suspended. The decision of the Committee shall be by two-thirds of those present and eligible to vote.

No action or other proceedings shall lie against the Association, the members of the tribunal, the members of the PCC, or of the Committee, or any of them in respect of any of the matters dealt with in this rule and no Member who is expelled or suspended or required to resign shall have any claim in respect of his/her subscription or otherwise howsoever.

16 | General Meetings

The Annual General Meeting shall be convened in May of each year. This may be in person, online or a combination of both. Ten Full Members shall form a quorum, but if within fifteen minutes after the time fixed for the holding of the meeting a quorum be not present, the meeting shall be dissolved, and all matters which might, if a quorum had been present, have been done at the meeting so dissolved, may forthwith be done on behalf of the Association by the Committee.

At the Annual General Meeting in each year the Committee shall submit the accounts for the past year.

The business for the Annual General Meeting shall be (a) to consider the accounts of the Association and the President’s report for the previous year; (b) to consider the estimates of income and expenditure prepared by the Honorary Secretary pursuant to Rule 11; (c) to fix the annual subscriptions pursuant to Rule 13; (d) to elect Members of the Committee pursuant to Rule 10; (e) such other matters as the Committee may think desirable; and (f) (for discussion only) any other business.

An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened at any time by direction of the Committee, or on a requisition to the Honorary Secretary signed by not less than twelve Full Members and stating the business for which the Extraordinary General Meeting is required. If the meeting so requisitioned be not convened within 21 days, the said twelve Members may convene the meeting themselves. At any Extraordinary General Meeting ten Full Members shall form a quorum; and if a quorum is not present within fifteen minutes of the time fixed for the holding of the meeting, then the meeting shall be dissolved and all matters which might, if a quorum had been present, have been done at the meeting so dissolved, may forthwith be done on behalf of the Association by the Committee.

At least fourteen days’ notice of all General Meetings shall be given, but the non-receipt of such notice by any one or more Members shall not invalidate the proceedings.

Should any Member desire that a matter be brought up at a General Meeting (whether Annual or Extraordinary), he/she shall send particulars thereof in writing and signed by himself/herself and one other Member in such time that the Honorary Secretary receives the same at least 28 clear days before the date of the meeting. The Honorary Secretary shall then include such matter in the agenda for the meeting. No business not included in the agenda shall be determined at any meeting unless a resolution in favour of such determination shall be passed unanimously by all Members present at the meeting entitled to vote.

At all General Meetings the President, or in his/her absence the Vice-President or failing him/her a Member of the Committee appointed by those present at the meeting, shall take the chair. Except in regard to the matter provided for in Rules 17 and 19, a majority of votes of those entitled to vote decides a resolution. Voting shall be by show of hands (except for elections to the Committee, which shall be by ballot of the Full Members present or by prior distance voting by email or other electronic means as may be directed by the Committee) unless a poll of all Full Members be demanded by not less than fifteen Full Members present at the meeting. In the event of a poll the meeting shall be adjourned to such time and place as may be decided by the chairman of the meeting. The decision as shown by the poll shall be reported to the adjourned meeting and shall be deemed to be the decision of such meeting. The chairman, on a show of hands or on a ballot or on a poll, shall have a second or casting vote.

17 | Alteration of Rules

These Rules may be altered by a resolution in General Meeting provided that the resolution is carried by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting, or in the event of a poll by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Full Members of the Association voting in the poll. A copy of these Rules and all subsequent amendments thereto shall be available on the Association’s website and brought to the attention of Members upon amendment.

18 | Observance and Interpretation of Rules

Every Member undertakes and agrees to abide by the Rules for the time being in force and to accept as final and binding the decision of the Committee in all cases of dispute or disagreement as to the interpretation thereof.

19 | Dissolution

The Association may be dissolved by an Extraordinary General Meeting convened on the recommendation of the Committee or on the requisition of a simple majority of the Full Members. Provided that the resolution for such dissolution be carried by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Full Members present at the meeting or in the event of a poll by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Full Members voting in the poll, the Committee shall as soon as possible liquidate the affairs of the Association and if there be any net assets remaining on such dissolution, they shall be returned to the Members at the direction of the Committee, which shall take into account any available and relevant UK government tax guidance.