Demand for arbitration has soared this year, figures from the London Court of International Arbitration reveal.

The court has heard 198 cases to date – 61 more than last year and 66% more than the average over the previous four years.

A court spokeswoman said: ‘Part of this will certainly be due to the effects of the current economic crisis.’

Amanda Wadey, solicitor in the dispute resolution practice at LexisNexis, said that an increase in personal finance disputes is the main driver behind this year’s increase, and that ‘big ticket’ mediations had not yet hit the lists.

She said mediation of small and medium-sized credit crunch disputes is likely to increase further next year because it is cheaper than litigation, but big cases will be settled in the courts.