A new edition of ICSID’s caseload statistics provides a comprehensive account of case-related trends in 2022, as well as data on all ICSID cases over the past fifty years.

Thirty different States were named as respondents in 41 cases registered in 2022 under ICSID’s procedural rules for resolving international investment disputes. Arbitrations under the ICSID Convention accounted for 34 of those cases, followed by seven arbitrations applying the ICSID Additional Facility Rules.

As of December 31, 2022, ICSID had registered a total of 910 cases under the ICSID Convention and Additional Facility Rules since the first case in 1972. The majority of ICSID cases have been arbitrations under the ICSID Convention (821), followed by Additional Facility arbitration cases (76), ICSID Convention conciliation cases (11), and Additional Facility conciliation cases (2).

ICSID also administers cases under other ‘non-ICSID’ procedural rules.  In 2022, ICSID administered 21 such cases, with the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) being the most common (accounting for 15 cases).

Basis of Consent

In line with historical trends, most newly registered cases in 2022 (54%) asserted ICSID jurisdiction based on a bilateral investment treaty. The Energy Charter Treaty accounted for 22% of registered cases and investment contracts between a foreign investor and host State for 12%.

The following bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements were each invoked in 2% of new cases: North American Free Trade Agreement; United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement; Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement; and the ASEAN-China Investment Agreement. Two percent of cases were also brought under domestic investment laws.

Regional Distribution

New cases were widely distributed amongst countries and regions in 2022. Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were involved in 27% of new cases, South America for 17%, the Middle East and North Africa 14%, and Western Europe for 12%. Central America and the Caribbean, and South and East Asia/Pacific each accounted for 10% of new cases, while North America and Sub-Saharan Africa each had a 5% share.

Economic Sectors

ICSID cases have always concerned a diverse array of economic sectors, and the past year was no different. The extractives and energy sectors continued to account for the largest share of cases. Twenty-four percent of cases registered in 2022 involved oil, gas and mining, and 20% related to electric power and other energy sources.

These sectors were followed by finance, and information and communication, each with 12% of disputes, while construction, and water, sanitation and flood protection accounted for 8% each.

Agriculture, fishing, and forestry; services and trade; tourism; and transportation involved 2% of cases each. A mix of other industries accounted for the remaining 8% of cases registered in 2022.

Case Outcomes

The outcome of cases at ICSID has been consistently balanced between States and investors—and 2022 was no different. Overall, 49% of cases concluded in 2022 were decided by tribunals and 51% were settled or otherwise discontinued.

Among cases decided by tribunals, 56% of awards upheld the investors’ claims in part or in full. Of the remaining share, 28% of awards rejected all of the investors’ claims on the merits, 8% of awards declined jurisdiction, and 8% of cases were dismissed for manifest lack of legal merit.

Diversity of Appointments

ICSID tracks the nationality and gender of people appointed to ICSID cases, providing important metrics on diversity in investor-State dispute settlement.

Amongst those appointed as arbitrators, conciliators, and ad-hoc committee members in 2022, 40% were of Western European nationalities; 25% North American; 20% South American; 7% South and East Asian/Pacific; 3% Eastern European/Central Asian; 2% Central American/Caribbean; 2% Sub-Saharan African; and 1% of Middle Eastern/North African.

Overall, women accounted for 23% of appointments to ICSID cases in 2022, compared to 27% in 2021 and 23% in 2020. Appointments made by the co-arbitrators were 40% women and 60% men; appointments by ICSID were 37% women and 63% men; and appointments made jointly by the parties were 32% women and 68% were men. Finally, men accounted for 90% of appointments made by claimants and 87% of appointments made by respondents in 2022.

For further information, see The ICSID Caseload – Statistics (Issue 2023 – 1).

About The ICSID Caseload - Statistics

The ICSID Caseload - Statistics contains a profile of the ICSID caseload since the first case was registered in 1972. ICSID has hosted the majority of all known international investment cases and The ICSID Caseload - Statistics is a valuable empirical reference about trends in international investment dispute settlement generally. It profiles various aspects of international investment cases, including the number of cases, the basis of consent invoked by claimants, geographic and economic sector distribution of cases, outcomes of proceedings, and the nationality of arbitrators and conciliators. The ICSID Caseload - Statistics is available in English, French and Spanish, and updated every 6 months.