The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published a full statistical report providing an in-depth breakdown of the numbers behind the record growth of ICC arbitration cases in 2016, as announced by the ICC International Court of Arbitration earlier this year.
The statistical report is included 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.
Preliminary statistics released in January revealed a total of 966 new cases for ICC administration by the court filed in 2016. The cases involved 3,099 parties from 137 countries, constituting a record year for the court in its 94-year history, said ICC in a statement.
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.
Further, 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 Southeast Asia (Singapore) strategically respond to market needs, an increasing case load, and the growing importance of arbitration in those regions.
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 are reflected in a 30% rise in the number of arbitrators who made formal disclosures regarding independence and impartiality prior to their appointment or confirmation.
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 due to an exceptional number of cases involving Belize parties—likely to go unrepeated—a notable newcomer to the rankings is the Qatar capital of Doha.
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.
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.
Photo: Susana Aguirre Serralde
