ICC arbitration hits record pending caseload and near-record awards

The final statistics (31-page / 1.47MB PDF) for 2025 confirm the preliminary figures published in February 2026. In 2025, 881 cases were filed under the ICC Arbitration Rules and 13 under the Rules of ICC as Appointing Authority in UNCITRAL proceedings, bringing total new registrations to 894. It means 2025 ranks among the top three years for the ICC by case volume and that it was a year during which the 30,000th registered case came before the ICC Court.  

With 1,869 cases pending at year-end, 2025 set a record for pending caseload, up from 1,789 in 2024 when 841 new cases were registered. The ICC Court approved a second highest-ever 607 draft awards in 2025 – 444 final awards, 118 partial awards, 45 awards by consent – compared to 577 in 2024. 

Construction and energy disputes continued to account for the largest share of the ICC's work. Disputes arising from the construction and engineering sector (246 cases, or 28%) and the energy sector (128 cases, or 15%) together represented 43% of all new cases in 2025.

Pamela McDonald, an expert in international arbitration at Pinsent Masons, said: “The continued prominence of construction and energy disputes was no surprise. These sectors generate large-scale, technically complex disputes that are ideally suited to international arbitration, and the ICC's global reach and institutional experience make it a natural home for them." 

The final statistics confirm the continued rise of complex, multi-party arbitration. Approximately a third (34%) of newly-filed cases in 2025 involved multiple parties. The vast majority of multi-party cases involved three to five parties (83%), with one case involving as many as 27 parties. Eleven emergency arbitrator applications in 2025 also involved multiple parties, underscoring the growing complexity of disputes reaching the ICC.

The expedited procedure continued to gain traction in 2025, with 169 new cases administered under the ICC's expedited procedure provisions (EPP) – up from 152 in 2024 – through automatic application (158 cases) and opt-in (11 cases). Since the EPP was established in 2017, the ICC Court has administered 1,034 EPP cases resulting in 591 awards, crossing the 1,000-case milestone.

Sylvia Tonova, who also specialises in arbitration at Pinsent Masons, said the 1,000-case milestone was a landmark moment for the expedited procedure.

"The EPP has transformed how lower-value disputes are managed at the ICC, and its expansion under the 2026 Rules, including the new highly expedited arbitration provisions (HEAP), shows the institution is listening to what users want: faster, leaner proceedings without sacrificing quality," Tonova said.

The new ICC Arbitration Rules, which entered into force on 1 June 2026, significantly enhance the fast-track framework. Alongside raising the monetary threshold for automatic EPP application, the 2026 Rules introduce HEAP, a new tier sitting above the existing EPP. In 2025, 36% of new cases involved an amount not exceeding US$3 million – the then-applicable threshold for automatic EPP – while 41% fell under US$4 million, the new threshold under the 2026 Rules. This data suggests the revised framework will bring a greater number of cases within its scope going forward, said McDonald.

Emergency arbitrator (EA) applications increased sharply in 2025, with 30 applications filed, nearly double the 17 filed in 2024, bringing the cumulative total to 287 since the EA provisions were introduced in 2012.

The 2026 ICC Rules have also strengthened the emergency arbitrator framework through enhancements to the EA regime, new provisions on early determination, and the introduction of the new HEAP. These changes signal the ICC's commitment to ensuring parties have meaningful access to rapid relief, according to Tonova. 

The 2,531 parties in cases registered in 2025 came from a record-matching 147 jurisdictions, up from 136 in 2024. Europe remained the largest source of parties, accounting for approximately 38% of the total, followed by the Americas (32% of parties).

In 2025, arbitrations were seated in 123 cities across 70 countries, compared to 107 cities across 62 countries in 2024. France and the UK were the most chosen seats, followed by the US, Switzerland and Singapore.

McDonald said: “The continued preference for established arbitration seats such as France, the UK, the US, Switzerland and Singapore underscores the importance parties place on the legal framework supporting the arbitral process. The choice of seat is not merely administrative – it determines the courts that will support the arbitration, supervise procedural issues and consider challenges to awards. As an increasing number of jurisdictions favour the law of the seat when determining issues relating to the arbitration agreement, the selection of the seat has become an even more consequential strategic decision for parties negotiating cross-border contracts.”