Until now. In the recently heard case of Essar Oilfields Services Limited and Norscot Rig Management PVT Limited [1], the court upheld the award made by the ICC arbitrator in relation to costs and, in doing so, emphasised the separation of the arbitral process and the autonomy of the arbitrators who operate within it. Background & the decision of the arbitrator In December 2015, the arbitrator held that Essar Oilfield Services Ltd (" Essar ") was in repudiatory breach of an operations management agreement (the " Agreement ") between Essar and Norscot Rig Management PVT Limited (" Norscot ") and made a partial award ordering Essar to pay damages and costs on an indemnity basis. The costs amounted to over US$12 million. These costs included £1.94 million that Norscot had paid to obtain third party funding for the arbitration.