News
2002

ICC Arbitration in 2001

566 new arbitration cases, involving a total of 1,492 parties from 116 countries, were registered by the ICC Court in 2001. The geographical spread of ICC arbitration remains as wide as ever, with parties from all continents.

The arbitrators called upon to decide ICC cases and the places where proceedings are conducted further reflect the international character of ICC arbitration. In 2001, 948 arbitrators from 61 countries took office in ICC cases. ICC proceedings were conducted in 42 different countries on all continents. In 52% of cases they were conducted by a three-member tribunal and in 48% of cases by a sole arbitrator.

For the first time in the history of the Court's statistics there were parties from Benin, Cambodia, Moldova and the U.S Virgin Islands and arbitrators from Jamaica and the Ukraine.

The breadth of ICC arbitration is to be seen also in the varying amounts in dispute and the number of economic sectors involved. In 2001, amounts in dispute ranged from less than 50,000 U.S. dollars to over one billion U.S. dollars. More than half of the cases involved amounts in excess of one million U.S. dollars, confirming ICC's capacity for handling large-scale cases.

The cases registered in 2001 related to a wide variety of economic activities covering agriculture, heavy industry and the tertiary sector. ICC arbitration maintained its position in construction and engineering and increased its activity in health and pharmaceuticals, leisure, and telecommunications.

The versatility and efficiency of ICC arbitration owes much to the make-up of the ICC Court and its Secretariat. The Court comprises 116 members from 76 countries with professional experience in law and international trade. It meets weekly throughout the year and holds a plenary session of its members every month. The Secretariat has a staff of over 50, who together speak a total of 18 languages and represent 21 different nationalities.

A full report on ICC arbitration in 2001 will be published in the Vol. 13 / No1, Spring 2002 issue of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Bulletin.