2020 ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics published

The 2020 ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics report includes a comprehensive overview of ICC Arbitration statistics including breakdowns by region, the constitution of the arbitral tribunals, figures for state and state-owned parties, place of arbitration, the geographical origins of arbitrators and parties, and statistics relating to gender and age diversity.

Earlier this year, ICC reported 946 registered new cases had been filed with the ICC International Court of Arbitration – up from 869 in 2019. This is the most cases the ICC Court has ever registered – with the exception of 2016, when a collective dispute led to 135 related small-claim cases.

Claudia Salomon, who took office as President of the ICC Court as of 1 July, said:

“The 2020 figures reflect ICC’s status as the world’s preferred arbitral institution and our reach as a truly global arbitral institution. We remain committed to supporting the global business community with our range of trusted services and building on the growth and increased diversity of the Court.”

Of the cases registered in 2020, 929 cases were filed under the ICC Rules of Arbitration, while 17 were filed under the ICC Appointing Authority Rules.

Continuing trends in previous years, 2020 saw record growth with 1,520 arbitrator appointments and confirmations – the widest geographical representation to date with 92 nationalities represented. The marked figures reflect the continuous efforts of the ICC Court to increase diversity among ICC arbitral tribunals. Of those appointments and confirmations, the number of women arbitrators also rose 2.3% to a total of 23.4%. Additionally, ICC Arbitrations were seated in 113 cities in 65 countries – the highest number of jurisdictions to date.

The 2020 figures confirm ICC Arbitration suitability for disputes of all sizes. While the average amount in dispute among the 1,833 pending cases at the end of 2020 was US$ 145 million, 38% of newly registered cases involved an amount in dispute not exceeding US$ 3 million – the new threshold for the automatic application of the expedited procedure under the 2021 Arbitration Rules.

The ICC International Centre for ADR also saw marked growth with 77 new cases in 2020. The registered cases were filed under the ICC Rules of Mediation, Expert Rules, Dispute Board Rules and DOCDEX Rules, marking the largest number of cases registered in a year for the Centre. This included 45 mediations, 22 requests for expertise, seven DOXDEX proceedings and three Dispute Board proceedings.

Alexander G. Fessas, Secretary General of the ICC Court and Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services, said:

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all clients of ICC Arbitration and ADR in the past year. We are committed to the highest level of service and support to our clients who have entrusted their business disputes to us. We will continue to tap into insights and experiences to ensure ICC remains at the forefront of tomorrow’s arbitration and ADR solutions worldwide.”

The full 2020 ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics report is now available for download via our Document Centre or via the ICC DRS app. Statistical reports for previous years are also available via the Dispute Resolution Channel of the ICC Digital Library.