ICSID data offers insight into investor damages awards

ICSID published its latest annual caseload statistics report (32-page / 875KB PDF) for the year to 30 June 2025 earlier this week. International arbitration expert Sylvia Tonova of Pinsent Masons said the figures in the report relating to damages awarded versus damages claimed in ICSID proceedings are particularly revealing for businesses that might be considering investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).

“This issue of ICSID’s annual caseload statistics report introduces a new feature: data on damages claimed and awarded in ICSID arbitrations concluded in FY2025, as well as in all concluded ICSID arbitrations,” Tonova said. “Claimants usually seek financial compensation for alleged breaches of investment obligations. The amounts claimed and awarded can vary significantly depending on the nature of the investment and the dispute at issue.”

“In arbitration cases decided by tribunals in FY2025, 51% resulted in no damages awarded to investors – for example, due to dismissal of claims on jurisdictional grounds, findings of no liability, or liability without damages. In 10% of cases, the damages awarded were under $10 million, while 25% of cases resulted in awards ranging from $10m to $99m. Similarly, throughout ICSID’s history, no damages to investors have been awarded in 54% of arbitration cases. In 15% of cases, damages awarded were less than $10m, while in 10% of cases, damages exceeded $100m,” she said.

“The new edition also presents data on the ratio of damages awarded to damages claimed in arbitrations where tribunals granted monetary compensation to claimants. In FY2025, damages awarded were less than 10% of the amount claimed in six cases, and between 26% and 50% of the amount claimed in eight cases. Over the history of ICSID, in 21% of all arbitrations decided by tribunals, damages awarded have been less than 10% of the amount claimed; and in 45% of cases, between 10% and 50% of the amount claimed,” Tonova said.

According to Tonova, the damages data from ICSID reflects a broader trend in ISDS: tribunals often award significantly less than what claimants seek. She said this reflects “the high evidentiary and legal bar for damages claims”.

“The quantum of damages awarded and claimed has been a topic of much debate with a recent UNCTAD report (16-page / 2.4MB PDF) analysing the growing trend of increasing awards of damages and compensation in ISDS proceedings and offering policy options for international investment agreements (IIAs) aimed at countering excessive awards,” Tonova said.

The ICSID report confirmed that it administered a record-breaking 347 cases in FY2025, the highest in the institution’s history. A total of 1,058 cases have been registered with ICSID since its inception in 1972. In FY2025 alone, 35 new cases were registered with ICSID, 43% of which were related to the oil, gas and mining sectors, with the majority of cases – 19 cases – involving the mining industry. The construction sector accounted for 15% of disputes.

Of the new cases, 24% involved states in Sub-Saharan Africa. States in Central America and the Caribbean accounted for 19% of new cases; South America for 18%; and Eastern Europe and Central Asia for 12%. States in Western Europe represented 9% of new cases; North America 7%; South and East Asia and the Pacific 6%, and the Middle East and North Africa 5%. Almost half of the cases, 44%, involved investors from Western Europe, while investors from North America were involved in 19% of cases.

Johanne Brocas of Pinsent Masons said: “The statistics provide expanded data including for the first time a regional breakdown of new cases based on the investors’ nationalities and places of incorporation as well as new data on damages awarded to investors. The report shows a substantial number of investor-claimants are from South and East Asia and the Pacific (14%), behind Western Europe and North America.”

The figures also show a substantial proportion of cases continue to be resolved through settlement reflecting parties’ preference for negotiated outcomes in certain contexts. ICSID’s mediation rules, introduced in 2022, constitute a complementary mechanism to arbitration, offering a flexible and collaborative approach to resolving investor-state disputes.

This trend aligns with broader discussions in the field, including those highlighted in recent analysis by Pinsent Masons, which explores the evolving role of mediation in ISDS and the potential for greater uptake as states and investors seek more efficient and less adversarial solutions.

Alongside its report, ICSID announced that it is to open its first major office outside the US, in Singapore, marking a significant development in the region’s international dispute resolution landscape.

The new Singapore office will serve as ICSID’s regional hub, enabling the institution to better support the region’s needs in investment dispute prevention, resolution and education. Singapore is the only country currently holding local offices of all five World Bank organisations, underscoring its strategic importance in global governance and dispute resolution.

As a contracting member state since 1968, Singapore has long supported ICSID’s mission to promote foreign investment through a neutral and reliable forum for resolving disputes between investors and states. “This milestone reflects Singapore and ICSID’s shared commitment to fostering favourable investment climates through innovation and collaboration in international dispute settlement,” said the centre’s secretary general, Martina Polasek, after signing a letter of intent to formalise the project at Singapore Convention Week.

Speaking at an industry event hosted by Global Arbitration Review earlier this week, Polasek also indicated that she thinks mediation has an increasing role to play in ISDS, highlighting developments with the Singapore Convention on Mediation as putting mediation is “firmly on the map as a policy tool and as a practical mechanism for ISDS”. She said the EU-Singapore free trade agreement further “positions mediation not just as a precursor but also as a compliment [sic] to arbitration”.

Tonova said: “The opening of ICSID’s regional office in Singapore not only reinforces the city-state’s position as a global hub for international dispute resolution but also aligns with broader trends shaping the future of ISDS.”

“ICSID’s growing caseload and its evolving mediation framework reflect a shift toward more flexible and collaborative approaches to resolving investment disputes. This development echoes the objectives of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, which promotes the enforceability of mediated settlement agreements across borders,” she added.