ICSID Caseload Statistics 2025: Key Trends And Insights

ICSID has released its FY 2025 Caseload Statistics, unveiling new data on damages including the difference between damages claimed and damages awarded

On 27 August 2025, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published its caseload statistics for the 2025 fiscal year (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, FY 2025), based on cases registered and administered by ICSID as of 30 June 2025. This blog post analyses the key trends and insights presented in the report as compared to last year's statistics for the same period. It also highlights the data that ICSID has published for the first time on case outcomes, including damages awards and the differences between damages claimed and damages awarded.

New cases registered: growing shift towards contract-based claims

In FY 2025, ICSID registered 67 new cases, an increase from the 53 cases filed between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 (FY 2024) (see the FY 2024 ICSID Caseload Statistics Report). Notably, from 1 Jan 2025 by 30 June 2025, a record 36 cases had been registered under the ICSID Convention and Additional Facility Rules, a 50% rise compared to the same period last year.

In terms of the basis of consent invoked to establish ICSID jurisdiction, the largest proportion of newly registered cases in FY 2025 invoked Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) (45%). This was followed by 21% cases based on contracts, marking a significant rise from just 6% in FY 2024. Meanwhile, claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) dropped from 14% in FY 2024 to 6% in FY 2025. These statistics appear to indicate that there may be a shift towards project-specific, contract-based claims.

Geographical distribution: ICSID's first dataset on geography of investors

In FY 2025, Sub-Saharan African States were the most frequent respondents in ICSID cases, accounting for 24% of all filings (16 cases). Central American and Caribbean States followed at 19%, with South American States close behind at 18%. Interestingly, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which were the most targeted regions in FY 2024 (24%), saw a sharp decline to 12% in FY 2025.

This year also marked the first time that ICSID published data on the geographic origin of investor claimants. Western European investors accounted for 45% of all claimants, followed by North American investors at 19%. South and East Asia as well as those from the Pacific accounted for 14%, while investors from the Middle East and North Africa represented 8%. South America contributed 6%, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia just 3%. In 21% of cases, at least one investor was an entity incorporated in the respondent State. However, due to "foreign control" and an "agreement between the parties", the entity could constitute a national of another State under Article 25(2)(b) of the ICSID Convention.

Sectoral distribution: oil, gas and mining remains the largest sector

Classified by ICSID as one sector, oil, gas, and mining accounted for the highest number of ICSID disputes in 2025, accounting for 43% of all cases, a sharp increase from 28% in 2024 and double the historical average of 26%. Notably, most of these cases (19) concerned the mining sector. This was followed by the construction industry, which accounted for 15% of cases, and the electric power and other energy sector accounting for 12%. In contrast, the transportation sector saw a significant decline, dropping from 19% in 2024 to just 3% this year. Meanwhile, the information and communication sector experienced growth, rising from 2% in 2024 to 8%.

Case outcomes: ICSID releases new statistics on damages awarded by tribunals

For the first time, ICSID has published data on damages awarded by tribunals, excluding interest and non-monetary relief. This data includes cases "concluded with an award declining jurisdiction, deciding that the claims were manifestly without legal merit, dismissing all claims on the merits, or upholding claims on liability but awarding no damages to the investor". This newly published data marks a positive step by ICSID, promoting transparency and enabling stakeholders to better assess the financial implications and risks of arbitration. In 2025, no awards exceeded $1 billion, compared to 1% of all ICSID arbitrations historically. 2% of awards fell within the $500-999 million range (1% historically), 12% between $100-499 million (8% historically), and 10% between $50-99 million (5% historically). Awards between $10-49 million accounted for 15% (16% historically), while 10% were under $10 million (15% historically). In 51% of cases, no damages were awarded, closely aligned with the historical figure of 54%.

The report also presents data on the ratio of damages awarded to damages claimed in ICSID arbitrations where tribunals granted monetary compensation. In 2025, 5 cases resulted in awards between 76% and 100% of the claimed amount, 1 case fell within the 51% to 75% range, and 8 cases awarded between 26% and 50%. No cases fell within the 10% to 25% bracket, while 6 cases awarded less than 10% of the amount claimed.

These figures broadly reflect historical ICSID trends. Across all ICSID arbitrations, 21% of cases awarded less than 10%, 19% awarded between 10% and 25%, 26% awarded between 26% and 50%, 13% awarded between 51% and 75%, and 21% awarded between 76% and 100%. Thus, while full or near-full recovery of damages claimed is possible, most claimants receive only a portion of the damages they seek.

In 2025, 79% of ICSID cases were decided by a tribunal, while only 21% were settled or otherwise discontinued. This is a slight shift from the historical averages of 66% and 34%, respectively. Of the cases decided, 57% of claims were upheld in part or in full, 24% resulted in dismissal of all claims, and 19% were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, broadly consistent with historical trends.

Of the settled or discontinued cases, 55% were either settled or discontinued at the request of both parties (37% were discontinued at the request of both parties and 18% were settlements embodied in an award at the parties' request), while 18% were discontinued at the request of one party. The remaining cases were discontinued due to procedural issues: 9% for non-payment of required advances, 9% for failure of parties to act, and 9% for non-compliance with an order for security for costs.

Arbitrator appointments: the African continent remains under-represented, stagnation on gender diversity

In 2025, arbitrators were appointed from 48 nationalities, with the highest numbers coming from France (17), Canada (16), the United Kingdom (12), and Switzerland (10). Geographically, Western Europe continued to be the most represented from an arbitrator appointment perspective, accounting for 39% of all appointments, consistent with the previous year. This was followed by South America (22%), North America (16%), and South and East Asia and the Pacific (11%). The African continent remained under-represented in arbitrator appointments in FY 2025, with no net increase from FY 2024. Only 5% of appointments were from Sub-Saharan Africa and 3% from the Middle East and North Africa. Further, only six arbitrators from Africa were appointed who did not hold dual nationality with a Western European country.

The data also underscores how party appointments influence regional representation, with parties selecting arbitrators from Western Europe nearly twice as often as ICSID itself (60 appointments by parties versus 31 by ICSID) and showing a similar pattern for North American arbitrators (30 versus 7). Interestingly, parties appointed more South American arbitrators than ICSID (39 versus 12), suggesting a degree of regional preference or strategic selection.

Gender diversity remained largely unchanged from the previous year, with 70% of arbitrators being men and 30% women. However, ICSID's own appointments showed a narrower gender gap (45 men and 34 women) than party appointments. In 2025, claimants appointed 49 men and just 7 women and respondents appointed 46 men and 8 women.

13% of all appointments involved individuals appointed to an ICSID case for the first time. This is only a slight increase from the 10% last year. Out of these 35% were women and 32% were nationals of low- or middle-income economies.

The authors would like to thank Anannya Meghani for her contribution to this post.

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