1/4/22, 6:32 PM Arbitration Statistics 2020 - In Full Sail Through the COVID Storm - Global Arbitration News

From: https://globalarbitrationnews.com/arbitration-statistics-2020/

Arbitration Statistics 2020 – In Full Sail Through the COVID Storm

By Dr. Markus Altenkirch - October 12, 2021 Author: Dr. Markus Altenkirch and Elias Klodt

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Introduction

It is this time of the year again: most major arbitration institutions have published[1] their statistical reports, giving us the
opportunity to take a closer look at their numbers. As usual[2], we start off comparing the caseload of various arbitration
institutions. We then examine other relevant data such as the total amount in dispute, the number of emergency or expedited
procedure applications, arbitrator challenges, and figures on diversity to understand the direction arbitration is headed as well as
its trends.

Caseload numbers

Name of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) 759 767 791 801 966 810 842 869 946

ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of 50 40 38 52 48 53 56 39 58

Investment Disputes)

SCC (Stockholm Chamber of Commerce) 177 203 183 181 199 200 152 175 213

LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration) 277 301 300 326 303 285 317 395 440

SIAC (Singapore International Arbitration Centre) 235 259 222 271 343 452 402 479 1080

HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration 293 260 252 271 262 297 265 308 318
Centre)

DIS (German Arbitration Institute) 125 121 132 134 166 152 153 110 162

VIAC (Vienna International Arbitration Centre) 70 56 56 40 60 43 64 45 40

SCAI (Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution) 92 69 106 96 81 74 81 95 83

ICDR (International Centre for Dispute Resolution) 996 1165 1052 1063 1050 1026 993 882 n/a

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Name of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

CIETAC (China International Economic and Trade 1060 1256 1610 1968 2181 2298 2962 3333 3615
Arbitration Commission)

PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) 27 35 39 42 40 41 56 49 59

KCAB (Korean Commercial Arbitration Board) 360 338 382 413 381 385 393 443 405

TOTAL 4521 4870 5163 5658 6080 6116 6736 7222 7419

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In our conclusion to the 2019 analysis, we were wondering how the institutions would weather the COVID-19 storm. In short:
they did very well. Despite – or maybe even because – of COVID-19, the field of arbitration continued to grow throughout 2020.
In 2020, the combined number of new arbitration cases of our selected institutions amounted to an impressive 7419. To put this
into perspective: the year before, the number of cases added up to 6375[3], resulting in an increase of 16%. Looking back now,
this is not surprising. The pandemic not only undoubtedly sparked a great number of (cross-border) disputes. It is likely that the
institutions also profited from the total halt of some state courts. Arbitral institutions managed to keep the system running and it
is remarkable how fast they adapted to the limitations that went hand in hand with the global pandemic. It is safe to say that
international arbitration proved and advertised itself in the difficult year that was 2020.

A number of arbitral institutions even registered an all-time high of new cases: the LCIA, HKIAC, CIETAC, ICSID, SIAC and the
PCA. Especially the SIAC had plenty of reason to celebrate as they more than doubled their case numbers compared to the
previous year and also crossed the magical threshold of 1,000 new cases in a year.

Other relevant data

  ICC ICSID SCC LCIA SIAC HKIAC DIS VIAC SCAI CIETAC

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  ICC ICSID SCC LCIA SIAC HKIAC DIS VIAC SCAI CIETAC

Amount in USD 51 n/a EUR 2 billion n/a SGD USD 8.8 EUR EUR 428 CHF RMB
dispute billion 11.25 billion 2.25 million 924 112.13
billion million billion

International 69% n/a 49% 93% 94% 72.3 % 49% n/a 80% 20.4%
arbitrations [5]

Emergency 32 n/a 5 5 20 14 n/a n/a 2 n/a

arbitration
applications

Expedited >115 [6] n/a 67 13 [7] 88 28 n/a n/a 32 n/a

procedure
applications

Arbitrator 92 n/a 17 6 4 [8] 1 n/a n/a n/a 28 [9]

challenges

Percentage 23.4% 12% 31% 33% 32.2% 22.8% n/a 31.7% 30% n/a
of female [10] [11]
arbitrators

Arbitrator 1. UK 1. 1. Europe 1. UK 1. 1. Hong n/a 1. Austria n/a n/a

nationality (14.5%)
France (97%)
(63%)
Singapore Kong (47.7%)

(top 3) 2. USA (10%)

2. North 2. (35%)
(22.8%) 2. Slovakia
(10%)
2. USA America Canada 2. UK [13]
(15.9%)

3. (9.3%)
(2.3%)
(n/a)
(22%)
2. UK 3.
Switzerland 3. UK 3. 3. USA 3. USA (18.8%)
Switzerland
(8.9%) (8.4%) Australia/South (n/a) (9%) 3. (9.1%)
America Australia
(10.1%)

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The yearly amount in dispute reflects the prosperity of arbitration. Leading the group by far, the average amount in dispute of
cases filed with the ICC during 2020 was USD 54 million. In 8.5 % percent of their new cases, the amount in dispute was more
than USD 100 million. In general, the total amount in dispute for 2020 increased for most institutions. Noteworthy are the SCC
with an increase by a third compared to 2019 and the HKIAC which doubled the end-of-year amount.

The proportion of international cases remained on a similar level throughout the institutions. In this category, the SIAC, LCIA
and SCAI have the lead. Following closely behind, the HKIAC and ICC registered a slight proportional drop in international cases.

In light of COVID-19, the number of emergency arbitration increased unsurprisingly under almost every institution.

Expedited procedures have been an integral part of arbitration for some time now and the numbers show that they steadily
increase in numbers. They continue to be exceptionally relevant at the SCC and SCAI – there, the number of applications
constitute roughly a third of all new cases.

No significant changes concerning arbitrator challenges could be detected. As in 2019, the ICC stands out – this time with a total
of 92 challenges. Only the SCC is at a similar proportional level. It is noteworthy that the HKIAC registered just a single
challenge.

The parties’ preferred nationality of arbitrators remains mostly unchanged, too.

We want to take a closer look at the arbitrators’ diversity, however. Looking at the statistics of the last three years, we can make
out an overall slow but steady increase. Since 2018, the percentage of female arbitrators in ICC cases increased by about 2
percentage points every year, with almost every fourth arbitrator being female now. The LCIA experienced a real boost since
2018: every year, the number of female arbitrators increased by 5 percentage points and now sits at a leading 33 %[4].
Similarly, almost every third arbitrator is female in SCC and VIAC cases. Both these institutions registered a major jump in
numbers after a decrease in 2019.

Although some institutions only provide the number of female arbitrators appointed by the institution itself, other institutions
publicize numbers that distinguish between appointments by the institution, co-arbitrators, and the parties. These numbers shed
a slightly different light on the progress of achieving diversity: For example, the percentage of female arbitrators appointed by

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the HKIAC itself amounts to 22.8 %. In comparison, every third arbitrator designated by co-arbitrators in HKIAC cases is female
– which is en par with the overall average of the LCIA. Sadly, however, only 11.1 % of all party-appointed arbitrators in HKIAC
cases are female.

As stated before, almost every third (31.7 %) arbitrator in VIAC cases is female. Of all arbitrators nominated by the parties and
co-arbitrators in these cases, however, only 24.2 % are female.

Similarly, 30% of the arbitrators in SCAI cases are female. Of all appointments made by the Court, a remarkable 71 % were
female arbitrators, from which we can infer that the percentage of female arbitrators appointed by the parties (and possibly co-
arbitrators) is much lower than 30%.

Conclusion

In last year’s analysis, we noted that “2019 continued to remain a busy year for all arbitral institutions” but that “much work
remains to be done to improve their image on certain parameters, specifically with respect to diversity.” Considering how well
arbitration has fared in 2020 despite the extreme circumstances, it is safe to say that it has been an extraordinary year for
arbitration. With respect to diversity, we can appreciate that the overall numbers are still growing. And we welcome that a
variety of institutions take an active role in fostering diversity by appointing more and more female arbitrators. The numbers on
party-appointed arbitrators show, however, that there is still a long way ahead. Let’s see what 2021 has in store for us!

[1] ICC: https://iccwbo.org/publication/icc-dispute-resolution-statistics-2020/;

ICSID: https://icsid.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/publications/The%20ICSID%20Caseload%20Statistics%20%282021-
1%20Edition%29%20ENG.pdf;

SCC: https://sccinstitute.com/statistics/;

LCIA: https://www.lcia.org/media/download.aspx?MediaId=855;

SIAC: https://siac.org.sg/images/stories/articles/annual_report/SIAC_Annual_Report_2020.pdf;

HKIAC: https://www.hkiac.org/about-us/statistics;

DIS: https://www.disarb.org/ueber-uns/unsere-arbeit-in-zahlen;

VIAC: https://www.viac.eu/en/service/statistics;

SCAI: statistics were kindly provided to us by the institution upon request;

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ICDR: no statistics for 2020 available;

CIETAC: http://www.cietac.org/index.php?m=Page&a=index&id=40&l=en and https://www.acerislaw.com/wp-

content/uploads/2021/05/cietac.org-CIETAC-2020-Work-Report-and-2021-Work-Plan-Work-Report-China-International-
Economic-and-Trade-Arbitra.pdf ;

PCA: https://docs.pca-cpa.org/2021/06/2021/06/7ea445fd-online-pca-annual-report-2020-%E2%80%93-1.06.2021.pdf;

KCAB: http://www.kcabinternational.or.kr/user/Board/comm_notice.do?
BD_NO=174&CURRENT_MENU_CODE=MENU0017&TOP_MENU_CODE=MENU0014.

[2] 2019 statistics: https://globalarbitrationnews.com/how-did-arbitration-institutions-fare-in-2019/;

2018 statistics: https://globalarbitrationnews.com/international-arbitration-statistics-2018-another-busy-year-for-arbitral-

institutions-update/.

[3] For a more accurate comparison, we excluded the ICDR here as they did not provide numbers for 2020.

[4] Of all institutions that provided numbers on diversity.

[5] Just 26 of the 407 cases administered under the LCIA Rules involved only parties from the UK.

[6] In its 2020 statistics, the ICC states that “to date, 261 cases have been or are being conducted under the EPP.” As of end
2019, 146 cases had been or were being conducted under the EPP (ICC Statistics 2019).

[7] Refers to the expedited formation of the tribunal.

[8] Number of challenges decided by SIAC in 2020.

[9] Number of decisions made.

[10] Only refers to the 143 arbitrators appointed by SIAC.

[11] Only refers to arbitrators appointed by HKIAC. Percentage of party-appointed female arbitrators: 11.1 %; percentage of
female arbitrators designated by co-arbitrators: 33.3 %.

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[12] Out of the 8 female arbitrators, 5 female arbitrators (62.5%) were appointed by the KCAB INTERNATIONAL Secretariat and
3 (37.5%) were appointed by the parties.

[13] Numbers only refer to arbitrators appointed by HKIAC.

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Dr. Markus Altenkirch

Dr. Markus Altenkirch LL.M. is a member of the Dispute Resolution team in the Frankfurt office of Baker McKenzie where he focuses on international
arbitration. He currently represents clients in ICC, DIS, and CIETAC arbitrations. Markus primarily advises on Post-M&A as well as construction disputes.
Markus teaches at the University of Mainz and regularly publishes in the field of international arbitration. He is a contributor and editor for Global
Arbitration News.
Markus Altenkirch can be reached at Markus.Altenkirch@bakermckenzie.com and +49 69 2 99 08 232.

Elias Klodt
Elias Klodt is currently a member of the Dispute Resolution team at Baker & McKenzie in Frankfurt. He participated in the Willem C. Vis Moot and is
specialized on international arbitration.
Elias Klodt can be reached at elias.klodt@bakermckenzie.com and +49 69 299080.

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