Message from Martina
The past twelve months have brought meaningful milestones for ICSID. Honduras deposited its Instrument of Ratification of the ICSID Convention on July 17, 2026, becoming the 159th ICSID Member State. We also announced ICSID’s first offices outside Washington, D.C., in Singapore and Paris, to bring our case administration services, capacity-building activities, and stakeholder engagement closer to Member States, investors, and legal practitioners in Asia, the Pacific, and Europe — with plans to expand to other regions in the months ahead. Within our team, we welcomed Gabriela Álvarez Ávila as Deputy Secretary-General and promoted Aurélia Antonietti, Frauke Nitschke, and Natalí Sequeira to Chief Counsel.
These developments reflect a broader institutional momentum, and I am pleased to share some highlights of the progress we have made across our main priorities.
The first is upholding the highest standards in case management and improving efficiency. Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, ICSID administered 363 cases, the highest number in a single fiscal year, and provided services in 15 additional cases under non-ICSID rules. During this period, 83 proceedings were concluded, the second highest annual total, and 60 new cases were registered, above the average of the past five years. We also published our first in-depth study and statistics on contract-based cases, showing that contract-based arbitrations at ICSID are faster and more likely to settle. We released a new set of ICSID Model Clauses as well: ready-to-use dispute resolution language covering arbitration, conciliation, mediation, and fact-finding for investor-State contracts.
Our second priority is expanding dispute prevention and amicable settlement. Since introducing the ICSID Mediation Rules in 2022, we now explicitly inform parties about the availability of mediation at the outset of every registered arbitration. In the past year, our capacity-building and knowledge-sharing program encompassed 50 activities across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific, including 21 training sessions for State officials on investment dispute prevention and management.
Third, we are deepening engagement with policymakers, practitioners, and partners, including World Bank Group (WBG) teams. ICSID staff participated in over 180 outreach activities — the most in a single year — across 60 cities, reaching government officials from over 90 States, as well as private sector counsel, legal practitioners, students, and regional institutions. I met with State officials from all regions, including visits to countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. They expressed appreciation for ICSID’s support and strong interest in capacity building and closer collaboration.
Looking ahead, two significant challenges shape our work. The first is a global investment landscape marked by years of declining foreign direct investment to emerging markets and developing economies, with a fragile recovery that is bypassing many developing countries. In response, we are broadening our service offering and knowledge base, developing innovative dispute prevention tools, and working more closely as One WBG to embed ICSID’s data and expertise into the WBG investment toolkit — helping build strong investment climates around the world. The second is the rapidly evolving field of international investment dispute settlement, with demands for greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reform. We are responding through innovation to reduce the time and costs of proceedings, alongside active engagement in reform efforts.
I am grateful to our Member States, clients, and partners for their continued trust and support. My sincere thanks also go to my ICSID colleagues for their expertise and dedication. I look forward to building on this momentum together.
With warm regards,
Martina Polasek
Secretary-General, ICSID
Related:
Read Martina's December 2025 message: Thank You for an Extraordinary Year at ICSID
Read Martina's July 2025 message: Enhancing Efficiency, Reducing Costs, and Forging Alliances
Read Martina's message 2024 Year in Review