International Arbitration Update No. 11: The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association introduces New Rules

The main arbitral institution in Japan, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”), has introduced its revised Commercial Arbitration Rules (“New JCAA Rules”) and new Appointing Authority Rules (“Appointing Authority Rules”), effective as of 1 July 2021.

While the JCAA Rules were revised as recently as 1 January 2019, the New JCAA Rules introduce two key changes to the existing rules and the newly introduced Appointing Authority Rules will likely provide a distinct aspect to dispute resolution in Japan.

In this client alert, we summarize the key changes introduced in the New JCAA Rules and the key functions of the Appointing Authority Rules.