ICC Dispute Resolution Services in 2025: a year in review 

“These 2025 milestones celebrate our pursuit of excellence, integrity and leadership. In the year to come, we will innovate on dispute avoidance and resolution, and further solidify our role as the global institution that the business and legal communities trust.” 

Alexander G. Fessas 
Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services 

1. We topped a global survey with the world’s preferred arbitration rules…and began a revision process! 
   Confirming the global character and flexibility of ICC’s arbitration offering, the ICC Arbitration Rules emerged as the preferred choice in arbitral proceedings across every continent, according to the 2025 International Arbitration Survey conducted by Queen Mary University in partnership with White & Case. Throughout the year, ICC has been working on a revision of the ICC Rules of Arbitration which will enter into force in 2026.  

2. We launched a next-generation digital case management platform for dispute resolution services 
   Reinforcing our mission to make dispute resolution accessible and efficient, all ICC arbitrations since April 2025 have been administered through ICC Case Connect powered by Opus 2. Built to serve over 10,000 party representatives and more than 8,000 arbitrators, the platform provides a secure, centralised, cloud-based environment where parties, arbitral tribunals and the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration collaborate seamlessly and securely from anywhere in the world. 

3. We registered our 30,000th arbitration, building on a year with the highest value of claims to date 
   The ICC Court marked a significant landmark by registering its 30,000th case under the ICC Rules of Arbitration in December, ending a year of increased filings of new cases. Published earlier in 2025, the 2024 ICC Dispute Resolution Statistical report recorded US$354 billion in total caseload value, marking the highest ever total value of pending cases, providing insight into the evolving dispute resolution landscape worldwide.  

4. We welcomed the first hearings at our new ICC Hearing Centre  
   Following the official opening in December 2024, ICC’s state-of-the-art hearing facility in Paris welcomed its first hearings in March, accounting for more than 120 days of hearings in ICC and non-ICC cases alike. Cases at the ICC Hearing Centre involved parties from Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and South America with nine out of 10 hearings including remote participants. 

5. We were selected to administer Internet domain disputes 
   The ICC Centre for ADR has been selected for a second time by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to administer disputes related to the registration of new generic Top-Level Domains. The renewed collaboration reinforces ICC’s longstanding reputation as a leading provider of dispute resolution services in the technology sector and reflects ICANN’s continued reliance on ICC to support the fair, transparent and equitable resolution of domain name disputes. 

6. We created a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in Dispute Resolution 
   The ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR established a task force on artificial intelligence in dispute resolution to provide guidance and thought leadership on balancing the opportunity presented by AI with the need to protect the fundamental principles underlying international dispute resolution from the risks associated with its use. 

7. We launched new editions of the Advanced Arbitration Academy  
   After six successful regional editions launched in 2023 and 2024, ICC launched four new editions of the Advanced Arbitration Academy in 2025, including the first-ever Western Europe Academy. The year-long training programme helps develop arbitrator skillsets across a range of regions, contributing to a globally representative pool of professionals, and enhancing the accessibility and quality of arbitration globally. 

8. We welcomed a new editorial board for the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin  
   2025 marked the 35-year anniversary of the ICC Bulletin. With a new editorial board, ICC’s flagship, triannual journal showcases innovative ideas, builds capacity, and offers readers a greater understanding of the arbitration and ADR process. All editions of the ICC Bulletin are available in the ICC Dispute Resolution Library on Jus Mundi. 

9. We helped develop the skills of the next generation of dispute resolution professionals 
   In February, the 20th ICC Mediation Competition, ICC’s largest educational event, welcomed 48 university teams from 32 countries to compete in resolving international business disputes through mediation. Guided by professional mediators and administered under the ICC Mediation Rules, over 75 mock mediation sessions took place. In total, over 300 students and professionals took part. The National University of Singapore took first place over Australia’s University of New South Wales in the final mediation session. 

10. We continued driving excellence in world business law 
    The Institute of World Business Law published a report that explores the impact of regulatory initiatives on the development of arbitration in Latin American and Iberian countries. The Institute also awarded the 2025 ICC Institute Prize to Daria Levina for her thesis entitled “The Rise of International Commercial Courts: Driving Forces and Institutional Design” and appointed 10 new Council members during its 97th Council meeting.