Full 2016 ICC Dispute Resolution statistics published in Court Bulletin

The statistical report features in the latest edition of the recently revamped ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin – the unique journal of the ICC Court and the ICC International Centre for ADR – issued on 1 August.

Preliminary statistics released in January revealed a total of 966 new cases for ICC administration by the Court filed in 201. The cases involved 3,099 parties from 137 countries, constituting a record year for the Court in its 94-year history.

Arbitration experience manifested

The statistics underscore the Court’s ability to handle complex multiparty cases. Nearly half of all new cases filed in 2016 involved three or more parties while over 20% involved more than five parties. One case involved as many as 46 parties, accounting for the third place ranking of Belize among most frequent nationality of parties.

Global reach and cultural savvy

Reflecting the Court’s status as a truly global arbitral institution, statistics show that four out of every five cases filed in 2016 were between parties from different countries and two thirds of cases involved parties not only from different countries but from different regions of the world.

The statistics also reveal unprecedented growth in the Americas, Asia and Africa – indication that recent decisions to establish ICC Arbitration case management offices in Latin America (Brazil) and South East Asia (Singapore) strategically respond to market needs, an increasing case load and to the growing importance of arbitration in those regions.

Transparency and diversity efforts paying off

A total of 1,411 arbitrators, representing 76 nationalities were appointed or confirmed in 2016 to oversee the record number of cases filed. Court efforts to promote transparency in proceedings is reflected in a 30% rise in the number of arbitrators who made formal disclosures regarding independence and impartiality prior to their appointment or confirmation. Marked growth of 15% in the number of women arbitrators appointed for ICC proceedings is also highlighted in the statistical report.

ICC Court President Alexis Mourre said: “The Court is taking its commitments under the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge extremely seriously and endeavours to increase, year on year, not only the proportion of women we have as members, but also the number of women among our network of arbitrators.”

Popular places of arbitration seats

ICC arbitrations were seated in 106 cities in 60 countries according to the latest dispute resolution report. While Belize City’s entry into the top 10 most frequently selected cities is accredited to an exceptional number of cases involving Belize parties – likely to go unrepeated –a notable newcomer to the rankings is the Qatar capital Doha.

State and state-owned parties

Serving as a reminder that ICC Arbitration is accessible to the public and private sector parties equally, over 10% of cases filed with the Court in 2016 involved states or parties under state ownership and in one case ICC was requested to act as appointing authority in a dispute involving an inter-governmental organization.

Emergency proceedings

ICC’s emergency arbitrator procedure is also growing in uptake according to the statistical report, with 25 cases involving parties from 25 countries filed in 2016 – up from 10 cases filed in 2015. A further 12 cases have been recorded in 2017, bringing the total number of filed emergency arbitrator cases to date to 61.

The ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin, offered free of charge to members, is now available from the ICC Digital Library.