The International Court of Arbitration has enjoyed a bumper year, reporting a growing caseload and parties from almost 150 countries worldwide.

According to the International Chamber of Commerce’s annual report, 869 new arbitration cases were registered with the ICC International Court of Arbitration in 2019, the second highest number ever. Parties in the filings came from 147 countries and independent territories worldwide, breaking the previous record of 142 set in 2017.

The number of parties from Asia is rising steeply, and 2019 saw 105 parties from China, compared with just 59 in 2018. Meanwhile, the number of Indian parties tripled to 147. Ranked 15th in 2018 with just 47 parties, India now ranks second on the overall number of parties worldwide. European parties represented almost 40% of the total. 

Other arbitral institutions have also reported a strong year, with 406 cases referred to the London Court of International Arbitration in 2019, up from 317 the year before.

Meanwhile, the London Maritime Arbitrators Association received a total of 2,952 appointments last year, up from 2,599 in 2018, overshadowing the caseload of its competitor Singapore.