Priorities 

The ICC's purpose is to promote international trade, investment and the market economy system.  It makes rules that govern the conduct of business across borders and provides essential services, foremost among them the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the world's leading institution of its kind. 

The ICC was founded in 1919 by a handful of far-sighted business leaders.  Today it groups thousands of member companies and associations from over 130 countries.  National committees throughout the world present ICC views to their governments and coordinate with their membership to address the concerns of the business community.

The ICC has top-level consultative status with the United Nations where it puts forward the views of business in indu strialized and developing countries.  It also maintains close relations with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union (EU)and other intergovernmental and non-governmental bodies.  ICC permanent representatives at the UN in New York and Geneva monitor developments affecting business within the UN and its specialized agencies. 

The ICC ensures that business concerns are brought to the attention of governments, both through its international secretariat in Paris and the representations of national committees throughout the world.  An example of this political activity is the ICC President's annual meeting with the head of the host government of the Group of Eight Economic Summit.  On that occasion, the ICC submits policy recommendations on behalf of world business for the consideration of the G8 leaders at the Summit. 

Harmonization of trade practices is one of the ICC's main activities.  ICC rules on documentary credits are used by banks throughout the world and Incoterms (international commercial terms) defined by the ICC are applied by importers and exporters worldwide. 

The ICC also draws up voluntary codes for business which set ethical standards.  In 1996, it issued its Rules of Conduct to Combat Extortion and Bribery in International Business Transactions, which companies are urged to use to develop their own codes of conduct, The ICC's Business Charter for Sustainable Development covers every aspect of a company's activities in relation to the environment, from product design to customer advice.  The ICC's marketing codes cover direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion and sponsorship. 

ICC commissions meet regularly to review issues affecting business. They cover a wide range of sectors, among them banking, competition, the environment financial services, insurance, intellectual property, marketing, air and maritime transport, taxation, and trade and investment policy. 

Most of the 500 commission members are senior executives of major companies.  The commissions make critical assessments of legislative proposals and other developments affecting their fields and communicate these views to governments and international organizations.

The ICC International Court of Arbitration

The ICC International Court of Arbitration ("the Court") is the world's foremost institution in the resolution of international business disputes. While most arbitration institutions are regional or national in scope, the ICC Court is truly international. Composed of members from some 60 countries and every continent, the ICC Court is the world's most widely representative dispute resolution institution.

ICC Commercial Crime Services

Commercial crime is growing faster than international trade. Frauds are more complex and involve larger sums than ever before. New scams are constantly encountered.

ICC Commercial Crime Services has saved companies and individual investors billions of dollars in potential fraud and theft through its ability to recognize early warning signs. That skill has been developed over almost 20 years at the forefront of the fight against commercial crime.
CCS offers services that can be tailored or combined to meet individual needs for company security and protection. Whatever the security problem, CCS can help.

Bureaux within CCS deal with maritime and trading crime, product counterfeiting, financial malpractice, and all other forms of commercial crime. A special cybercrime unit tackles crimes affecting electronic commerce and keeps companies informed about this fast-evolving field of criminal activity.

ICC Publishing SA offers business people practical reference works for the conduct of international trade. Topics include banking practice, international arbitration, commercial fraud, international contracts and joint ventures. Publications may be ordered from ICC Publishing in Paris, from national committees or from the ICC website.

As the worlds leading business organization , the ICC is committed to making that Partnership a reality by working closely with the UN and other international organizations on all the issues in which business is directly involved, from investment issues to the fight against corruption in international transactions, from customs modernization to secure electronic commerce, from environmental protection to marketing ethics. 

The ICC is encouraged to note that its views are shared at the highest level of the UN system and in the World Trade Organization and the World Bank.  The ICC already has especially close ties with the WTO since we represent the enterprises who bring about the increased trade and prosperity that flow from its market opening decisions. 

In his recent report to the UN General Assembly on reforming the United Nations, Secretary General Kofi Annan noted the growing importance of the private sector in both developed and developing nations and said it was time to devise better means of consultation between the UN and business.  Mr. Annan said he planned to make use of mechanisms the ICC is establishing for this purpose. 

The Director General of the World Trade Organization, Renato Ruggiero, in a message to the ICCs World Congress in Shanghai last April, acknowledged its "critical role" in the success of the first WTO ministerial conference in Singapore last December.He referred to the WTO's need for continued ICC support , encouragement and ideas in areas like telecommunications, financial services and information technologies. 

Typical of the way the ICC can work with international organizations is our campaign to combat corruption in international business transactions.  World Bank President James Wolfensohn stressed the Bank's cooperation with the ICC in this area during the Bank's recent annual meeting in Hong Kong. 

The ICC is confident that business has much to bring to government decision-making on these and other vital issues.  Our members' expertise can help in shaping sound government policies.  Governments and business need each other as our nations learn to live in an unfamiliar global economic environment whose promise we are only just beginning to discern. 

How that cooperation with the international organizations can be strengthened will be the subject of a major conference the ICC is convening in Geneva on 23-24 September 1998. 
 
  Why companies should join the ICC   

• ICC speaks with authority on behalf of enterprises from all business sectors in every part of the world. With members in more than 140 countries, it is the only business organization that is so broadly representative of every facet of business.
• The members set ICC's agenda and determine its priorities. One example is the modernisation of customs procedures, singled out as the source of huge unnecessary costs as tariffs and other barriers to cross-border trade dome down. Others are the rules for e-commerce, environmental policy, and the fight against commercial crime.
• ICC opens the door to the corridors of power. As ICC members, company executives have personal access to government ministers and top international officials who make decisions affecting the bottom line. Before the G8 summit every year, ICC leaders put the business case on global economic issues at a private meeting with the head of the host government.
• A stream of laws and regulations by governments and intergovernmental organizations affect all aspects of business, among them, trade, investment, the environment, taxation, competition law and intellectual property. ICC members learn what really matters at an early stage - and win time to make the right decisions.
• ICC members are instrumental in drawing up rules that business uses every day to reduce costs and uncertainties - on arbitration, banking, commercial contracts, and so on. In the process, they gain unique insights into the vital area of trade facilitation.
• ICC brings together the world's biggest, most influential and dynamic companies. By joining, a company becomes part of the world's most prominent business organization.
• ICC members gain influence at the national level through the ICC's'global network of national committees, and at international level through ICC's privileged links with major intergovernmental organisations, such as the World Trade Organization.
• ICC is a treasure trove of information and experience in all matters affecting business operations. By serving on ICC policy commissions, members contribute their own know-how to ICC statements on the topics that most concern them. They tap into the vast multi-disciplinary knowledge of the 500 business experts who carry out the commissions' work.
• ICC is open to the private sector throughout the world. At the same time, it offers members many of the advantages of belonging to a prestigious club, such as the chance to forge business relationships at the highest level at exclusive ICC events.