Every year, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration publishes its annual caseload report. The reports set out details on the number and type of cases that were submitted to the ICC Court in the given year, including the demographic of parties and, arbitrators, choice of law, arbitration seat and language of awards. Given the prominence of the ICC as an arbitral institution, these statistics provide useful insight into the latest trends into the international arbitration industry.
The recently published caseload report for the year 2025 demonstrates the importance and significant growth of Spain, Latin American, and Middle East-related arbitral proceedings and the continued prominence of English law as a substantive law and London as a seat of arbitration. This commentary provides a summary of relevant statistics and highlights the strong synergies between the latest international arbitration trends and Ontier’s experience and capabilities.
Overall
A total of 894 new arbitration cases were submitted to the ICC Court in 2025 and a total of 1,869 arbitration cases were being administered under the aegis of the ICC at year-end with the majority (69.4%) of these arbitration cases concerning cross-border disputes. In December, the ICC Court registered its 30,000th case under the ICC Arbitration Rules.
Parties
The 894 arbitration cases registered in 2025 involved a total of 2,531 parties, out of which 47% were claimants and 53% were respondents. Approximately 34% of the newly registered arbitration cases involved multiple parties, with the vast majority of multiparty cases involving three to five parties (83%).
The parties involved in arbitration cases in 2025 came from 147 countries (or independent territories).
European parties represented approximately 38% of the total population of parties. Spanish parties were the most prominent within Europe and the third largest worldwide, with Spain being in the top five most represented countries in ICC arbitrations. Of the 2,531 parties involved in the arbitration cases registered in 2025, 141 were from Spain, 67 from Mexico, 56 from Italy and 57 from the United Kingdom.
Latin America and the Caribbean represented close to 20% of the overall party population. In 2004, Latin America and the Caribbean represented only 11.4% of parties at the ICC, almost half of what they represent today. While the number of cases has grown exponentially over the years, Mexico remains one of the most represented nationalities within the Latin American and Caribbean region at the ICC.
In 2025, 29 out of 84 parties in emergency arbitrator proceedings registered by the ICC were Latin American or Caribbean. Since the emergency arbitrator procedure was introduced in the ICC Rules in 2012, Latin American and Caribbean parties have represented a good proportion of those that use this specialised procedure.
With 255 parties, the Middle East represented 10% of the overall party population. Saudi Arabia, with 42 parties, is included as one of the top three nationalities in the region.
Arbitrators
In 2025, Latin America and the Caribbean represented 16.6% of all arbitrators’ confirmations and appointments. The ICC statistics show the importance of Latin American and Caribbean arbitrators in the resolution of cross-border disputes.
In 2004, the ICC recognised how the number of Spanish arbitrators more than tripled from the year before, ranking them the sixth most frequent nationality of arbitrators that year. In 2025, Spanish arbitrators continue to be well represented on ICC tribunals with 6.3% of all appointments and the fifth highest nationality of arbitrators at the ICC. Madrid also continues to be within the top ten most frequently selected seats.
A total of 78 arbitrators originated from Middle East & Central Asia, with 15 of those from Saudi Arabia.
Law and seat
Unsurprisingly, English Law was selected for 113 cases in 2025, being the most popular choice of law in disputes resolved by ICC arbitration. London is the number two choice for the arbitration seat with 100% of the 78 arbitration cases having their seat in London.
22 cases selected the laws of Mexico and 43 the laws of Spain. Both of these countries are within the top ten laws chosen by parties who submitted their disputes to ICC arbitration in 2025. While English law continues to dominate, when aggregated these numbers show the growth of these other jurisdictions where Ontier has very strong capabilities as well.
Mexico City and Madrid are in the top ten most commonly selected seats at the ICC with 19 arbitration cases seated in Mexico City, namely 2.8% of the cases registered in 2025, and 26 arbitration cases seated in Madrid, namely 3.8% of the cases registered in 2025.
A total of 51 arbitration cases were seated in Middle East & Central Asia in 2025, 9 of which were in Saudi Arabia.
Languages
While English remains the most commonly used language in ICC arbitration cases (76%), Spanish and Portuguese followed in second and third places. Out of 607 total awards in 2025, 46 of these were drafted in Spanish and 40 in Portuguese.
Languages play an important role in international arbitration. The language of the participants in the proceedings often reflects legal culture. It may impact several aspects of an arbitration including oral testimony, advocacy and costs (due to translation and interpretation costs for example). Ontier’s international arbitration team can conduct arbitration cases and advise clients in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Italian, and our clients value receiving advice in their native language irrespective of the jurisdictions involved.
Sectors
The arbitration cases registered in 2025 covered a wide range of sectors.
The energy sector represented a significant proportion of cases brought before the ICC, namely 15% of all cases before the Court in 2025. Eleven-years prior in 2014, the number of cases within this sector rose by 31% percent and reached a high of 19% of all cases. Today, the ICC continues to see a consistent prominence of energy-related cases before the ICC, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
The health sector was considered a ‘prominent’ sector at the ICC in 2004, representing 6.2% of all cases before the Court. Only one year later, in 2005, this figure dropped by nearly half, to 3.6%. In 2025, the health and pharmaceutical industry encompassed 6% of cases before the ICC, demonstrating itself as an overall consistent and leading sector throughout the years.
Arbitration cases relating to information technology have become more and more common since the beginning of the new millennium. In 2005, information technology related cases represented 10% of all cases administered by the ICC. Throughout the years, the ICC began grouping together the sectors of telecommunications, information technology, and specialised technology into a singular category when producing statistics. This category has varied between 3 and 10% percent of all cases over the past twenty years. In 2025, 5% of the newly registered arbitration cases arose in the telecoms and specialised technology sectors.
Ontier’s international arbitration team has extensive experience in the energy, health and technology industries.
Conclusion
As the caseload report makes clear, 2025 marked a record year in terms of pending caseload. Moreover, the statistics highlight the consistent growth of Spanish, Latin American and Middle Eastern arbitral proceedings and continued prominence of English law as a substantive law and London as a seat of arbitration. In light of these latest international arbitration trends, it is evident that Ontier’s team, with its strong presence across Spain and Latin America and recently opened Middle East desk, is well placed to assist clients in resolving cross-border disputes.
