The ICC World Council has named 12 new vice presidents and 41 new members to the ICC International Court of Arbitration. The new appointments bring the total number of Court members to 125.

The ICC World Council made the appointments at its meeting in Kuala Lumpur on the occasion of the ICC World Chambers Federation Congress in Malaysia.

In addition to the new appointments, the World Council renewed the terms of 56 other members and 12 alternates. Court members serve three-year terms. The Court will have 125 members from 86 countries when its new term begins 1 July.

“The appointments of the new vice presidents in particular reflect the global reach of ICC arbitration, the diversity of its users and the continuing ability of the ICC Court to attract both well-known names and rising stars to join it,” Court Chairman John Beechey said.

The Court’s workload has been growing rapidly during the past several years, with the number of cases registered jumping to 663 last year from 599 in 2007. In addition 407 awards were rendered in 2008, compared with 349 in 2007, while there were 1,317 cases pending compared with 1,285 at the end of the previous year.

Mr Beechey told the ICC Commission on Arbitration in April that the Court was doing all it could to streamline procedures and to improve efficiency ahead of the pending Rules revision process, whilst maintaining the high quality of service expected of the ICC Court.

Last year the Court opened a branch office in Hong Kong, the first outside Paris, which has already registered more than 100 cases. A new Hearing Centre was inaugurated in Paris last year.

Three vice presidents were renamed to a second three year term: Mr Alan Redfern of the United Kingdom; Mr Carl F. Salans of the United States; and Mr Claus von Wobeser of Mexico.

The new vice presidents are: Mr Mohammed Chemloul of Algeria; Ms Karyl Nairn of Australia; Mrs Vera Van Houtte of Belgium; Ms Teresa Yeuk Wah Cheng of China; Mr Alexis Mourre of France; Mr Salim Moollan of France – Mauritius Island; Mr Jan Paulsson of France and Sweden; Mr Klaus Sachs of Germany; Mr Ciccu Mukhopadhaya of India; Mrs Loretta Malintoppi of Italy; Mr Vladimir V. Khvalei of Russia; and Mr Laurent Levy of Switzerland and Brazil.