Female and international diversity in arbitrator appointments reach record highs at LCIA

In 2025, 38% of arbitrator appointments under the LCIA Rules – or 155 of 403 – were women, up from the 33% recorded in 2024, according to the LCIA’s 2025 casework report.

The LCIA said this figure represents the highest proportion of women ever appointed as arbitrators since it first started formally reporting gender and diversity statistics. This is more than double the 15.8% recorded over a decade ago in the Registrar’s 2015 report.

The report also points to progress more broadly on gender diversity, noting that beyond the Court’s own selections, parties and co-arbitrators also chose women more often.

Commenting on this progress, Sylvia Tonova, an international arbitration expert at Pinsent Masons said: “The record level of female arbitrator appointments is a positive development, signalling continued progress towards greater diversity within the international arbitration community.”

There was also a marked demographic improvement in the diversity of arbitrators appointed, representing 45 nationalities in 2025. Of the 403 arbitrator appointments, 52%, or 211, were of nationalities other than British, up from 45% in 2024, marking the first year in which non-British arbitrators received a majority of appointments.

Overall, Tonova said the report reinforced the LCIA's position as a leading forum for the resolution of international disputes, revealing strong demand for international arbitration, with 365 referrals received, including 320 arbitrations under the LCIA Rules, and involving parties from 103 jurisdictions.

“The LCIA's latest figures highlight the continued strength of international arbitration as a preferred mechanism for resolving complex cross-border disputes,” said Tonova. “The fact that parties from more than 100 jurisdictions continue to choose the LCIA demonstrates the enduring importance of neutral, independent dispute resolution at a time of ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.”

In terms of caseload portfolio, transport and commodities disputes remained the largest category in 2025 at 25%. Banking and finance disputes remained at just under 17%. Energy and resources disputes increased from 10% to 14% and professional services recorded the largest increase in share, more than doubling from 5% to 11% and becoming the fourth largest sector.

The report also introduces institutional response and turnaround metrics, aimed at increasing transparency around LCIA performance. Notably, 87% of Requests for Arbitration were acknowledged on the same or the next business day and 96% of substantive first letters, confirming commencement of proceedings, were issued within three business days.

The LCIA’s statistics with regards to emergency procedures are also positive. In 2025, applications for expedited formation of tribunals under Article 9A were decided in a median turnaround time of five days and an average of six days from the decision. Where granted, tribunal formation took a median of five days and an average of 10 days from the decision. The report cites that applications for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator under Article 9B were decided in a median of two days and an average of two days from filing of the application.

Tonova added that the publication of these metrics reflected “growing demand from users for greater transparency, efficiency and accountability from arbitral institutions.”