ICC Arbitration posts strong growth in 2015

The Court recorded the second highest number of new cases in its 93-year history, with some 801 cases filed over the course of 2015. New cases administered by the Court involved a total of 2,283 parties-with multiparty disputes accounting for more than 30% of the total new caseload for the first time.

New records were set in 2015 for the average value of new ICC disputes and the aggregate value of cases before the Court. The average monetary value in dispute in new ICC cases rose to US$84 million from US$63 million in 2014-with the largest dispute valued at over US$1 billion. The aggregate value of all disputes pending before the Court at the end of the year stood at US$286 billion.

Our 2015 results show that the ICC Court is increasingly seen as the go-to institution for complex and high-value disputes.

The disputes submitted to the ICC Court in 2015 covered a broad range of sectors. Construction and engineering disputes accounted for a quarter of all cases received during the year, while energy disputes made up just under 20% of all new cases. 13% of cases filed in 2015 involved state or state-owned entities.

Commenting on the release of these results, President of the ICC Court Alexis Mourre said: “In a fiercely competitive market, the ICC Court continues to enjoy strong growth throughout the world. Our 2015 results show that the ICC Court is increasingly seen as the go-to institution for complex and high-value disputes.”

Unrivalled geographic reach

Cases filed in 2015 involved parties from 133 countries and independent territories worldwide-far outstripping the global reach of any other commercial arbitration institution. Parties from the United States remained the most numerous, while a significant rise was seen in parties from Australia, China and the United Arab Emirates.

2015 also saw continued growth in the appointment of arbitrators from emerging economies. The most notable change was the increase in the number of appointments and confirmations of arbitrators from Latin America (185 arbitrators). In total, arbitrators of 77 nationalities were assigned to ICC proceedings through the year. Arbitrators from the United Kingdom were appointed in the highest numbers (185 appointments), followed by the United States (133) and Switzerland (111).

We are particularly delighted with the strong growth of ICC Arbitration in North America and Asia.

Proceedings commenced in 2015 were seated in 97 cities in 56 countries-with the traditional predominance of European seats for ICC hearings offset by an unprecedented rise in the number of cases seated in Latin America. The US became the third most frequent country chosen in 2015. As has been the case for many years, Paris remained the city most frequently chosen as the place of ICC Arbitrations, followed by London and Geneva.

Mr Mourre added: “The figures show the unrivalled and growing reach of ICC Arbitration. We are particularly delighted with the strong growth of ICC Arbitration in North America and Asia-reflecting the establishment of new representative offices in these regions in recent years.”

New statistics on gender

In a landmark move, ICC has for the first time disclosed statistics on the gender balance of ICC tribunals. Women arbitrators represented just over 10% of all appointments and confirmations in 2015-and were more frequently appointed or confirmed as co-arbitrators (43%) than they were as sole arbitrators (32%) or tribunal presidents (25%). The statistics show that parties were less likely to select women arbitrators than the ICC Court.

The disclosure of gender statistics forms part of ICC’s on-going strategy to enhance both the transparency and diversity of international arbitration.

Mr Mourre said: “The disclosure of gender statistics forms part of ICC’s on-going strategy to enhance both the transparency and diversity of international arbitration. The Court remains committed to enhancing the diversity of ICC tribunals and we believe the publication of annual statistics has a key role to play in this regard.”

The full version of the ICC Statistical Report for 2015 will be published in the next edition of the ICC Bulletin due to be published next month.  To subscribe visit the ICC Knowledge 2 GO.