When is an ICC Answer to the Request due?

Under ICC Arbitration Rules 2026 Article 6(1), the respondent must submit the Answer within 30 days from receiving the Request from the Secretariat. Article 4 applies the calendar of the country where the communication is deemed made. The arbitral seat does not alone establish that country. Check deemed receipt, the applicable edition and any extension or agreed modification. This guide provides no automated or purchasable date.

Responsible actor. The respondent submitting its Answer to the ICC Secretariat.

The Secretariat’s receipt of the claimant’s Request establishes commencement under Article 5(2). The respondent’s receipt from the Secretariat starts the Answer count. Preserve both distinct events.

Article 3(5) deems communication on receipt by the party or its representative, or when it would have been received through an authorized Article 3(4) method. A delayed internal forwarding date does not automatically replace that event.

Record the country where the communication is deemed made. Choosing London as the seat does not establish England and Wales as the respondent’s receipt country.

The 2026 Rules apply to arbitrations commenced on or after June 1, 2026 unless the parties agreed to an earlier edition. HEAP has its own Appendix VI response steps and extension boundary.

The ordinary ICC Answer under Article 6. Establish the applicable edition and procedure. This is not the Secretariat’s receipt of the claimant’s Request, a reply to counterclaims, a HEAP preliminary-information submission or a court defence.

1. Confirm the ICC edition and ordinary Answer procedure.
2. Establish deemed receipt and its country.
3. Exclude the deemed-receipt date.
4. If the following day is nonbusiness in that country, start on the first following business day.
5. Count 30 calendar days including intermediate holidays.
6. Carry a nonbusiness last day to the first following business day in that country.
7. Check actual extensions and modifications before submitting the complete Answer.

Article 4 excludes the deemed-communication day. A nonbusiness following day delays the start to the first following business day. That start day is day one. Intermediate holidays and nonbusiness days count. The final day carries to the first following business day in the same deemed-communication country.

The actual deemed-communication country controls both start and final-day treatment. Do not replace it with the arbitral seat, counsel’s assumed location or ICC’s Paris address. The France illustration uses metropolitan French government holiday data and established Saturday/Sunday weekends; territorial and local differences need their own facts.

The ordinary 30-day period is supported, but the route does not retain and validate the country of deemed communication. A seat-only calculation can produce the wrong date. Use the official procedure until that context is supported.

The 2026 ordinary rules apply. The Request is deemed received in metropolitan France on August 3, 2026. No modification or extension applies. Saturday and Sunday are nonbusiness. August 4 is day one. August 4 through August 31 gives 28 dates, then September 1 and 2 gives 30. September 2 is a business day in the established receipt country. Conditional receipt-country illustration. September 2, 2026. The route must refuse an automated date.

The ordinary Request is deemed received in metropolitan France on Friday August 7, 2026. No extension applies. Saturday and Sunday are nonbusiness days. August 8 is nonbusiness, so Article 4 starts the period Monday August 10. August 10 through August 31 gives 22 dates and September 1 through 8 gives eight more. Conditional start-roll illustration. September 8, 2026.

The ordinary Request is deemed received in metropolitan France October 12, 2026. London is the arbitral seat. No extension or modification applies. Saturday and Sunday are nonbusiness days. October 13 through November 11 gives 30 dates. French official data lists November 11 as a holiday. Article 4 carries to November 12. London-seat November 11 is incorrect for these receipt-country facts. Conditional French-holiday illustration. November 12, 2026. The source guide produces no date.

The Request arrival date is known but its legally deemed communication country and representative receipt facts are not established. London is selected as the seat. The seat cannot replace the Article 4 communication country. Neither a holiday set nor a deemed-receipt event is established by that selection. No date. Establish deemed receipt and its country.

After a compliant Article 6(2) application, the Secretariat expressly grants an Answer extension to September 15, 2026. The decision has no other unresolved conditions. The actual extension controls the submission time limit. Do not calculate another 30-day interval from the extension email. Read the granted September 15, 2026 time limit. No automated date from this guide.

Deemed communication differs from internal receipt

Receipt by the party or representative, or authorized constructive receipt, controls under Article 3(5). Preserve the original transmission and authorized address.

Extension request needs arbitrator information

The Secretariat may extend time only under Article 6(2). The application must include observations on the number and choice of arbitrators and any required nomination. A request alone is not a granted extension.

Agreed modification and actual procedure

Article 4(2) permits agreed modifications; after constitution, tribunal approval is required. HEAP has distinct response obligations and requires party agreement for extensions under Appendix VI Article 2(7).

Answer contents and nonparticipation

Include all Article 6(1) information and required Article 12 disclosures. Counterclaims belong with the Answer under 6(4). Failure to answer does not stop the arbitration or establish automatic claimant success.

• The ordinary ICC Answer under Article 6. Establish the applicable edition and procedure. This is not the Secretariat’s receipt of the claimant’s Request, a reply to counterclaims, a HEAP preliminary-information submission or a court defence.
• The 30-day Answer, counterclaims submitted with it and a claimant’s later reply to counterclaims are distinct acts. An award deadline or seat-law court challenge follows a different event.

• Retain Secretariat commencement and respondent receipt evidence separately.
• Confirm the communication country and its calendar.
• Check edition, track and actual extension.
• Prepare all required Answer information and counterclaims.
• Submit through the prescribed channel and keep the record.
• Submit the complete Answer to the Secretariat. Article 3 generally uses email or another electronic means preserving a sending record. Hard copies are required only in the specified Article 3(2) circumstances. Preserve the submission and its delivery evidence. The reviewed provisions do not create a universal court-clerk cutoff or select a time zone for every case; check actual Secretariat instructions.