The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) registered a record 53 cases in 2017 under its trademark ICSID Convention Rules and Regulations and Additional Facility Rules

The 2017 figure, published in the latest edition of ICSID Caseload – Statistics, represents a slight uptick from preceding years: 48 cases were registered in 2016 and 52 in 2015. ICSID has registered an average of 39 new cases each year over the last decade.

ICSID also provides administrative support for investor-State arbitrations under the UNCITRAL rules and other ad hoc dispute settlement provisions. In 2017, 8 cases were administered under UNCITRAL rules and another 5 under ad hoc provisions.

The largest share of newly registered cases involved States from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (36%), followed by the Middle East and North Africa (15%), Sub-Saharan Africa (15%), and South America (13%). States from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South & East Asia and the Pacific accounted for 4% of new cases respectively.

In 2017, 15% of new cases involved the financial sector. Cases involving energy and extractives also remained prominent. Some 13% of newly registered cases involved oil, gas and mining, and 11% involved electric power and other energy sources.  

Of the arbitrations that concluded in 2017, 78% were decided by a tribunal, and the remainder were settled or otherwise discontinued. In 61% of decided disputes, the tribunal either partly or fully upheld the claim. Some 29% of claims were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and 7% dismissed all claims. Meanwhile, a small percentage (3%) of claims were dismissed because the tribunal decided they were manifestly without legal merit.

As in past years, a rich diversity of Arbitrators, Conciliators and ad hoc Committee Members were appointed to ICSID cases in 2017. Altogether, 35 nationalities were represented.

About ICSID Caseload – Statistics

ICSID Caseload – Statistics  is published twice a year in English, French and Spanish. It contains an overview of the cases registered or otherwise administered by ICSID, as well as information concerning the basis of consent to jurisdiction, the geographic distribution of cases by State Party to the dispute, and the economic sectors involved. 

Each issue also features data on outcomes in ICSID arbitration and conciliation proceedings, including further information on disputes decided by arbitral tribunals, data on discontinued ICSID arbitration proceedings, and outcomes to date in annulment proceedings under the ICSID Convention. The nationalities and geographic origins of arbitrators, conciliators and ad hoc committee members appointed in ICSID cases are also presented.

ICSID welcomes any comments or suggestions by email at ICSIDsecretariat@worldbank.org.