The value of new disputes at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hit a fresh record high last year, dominated by construction, engineering and energy sector cases, according to the ICC’s 2024 Dispute Resolution Statistics report.

The report showed there were 841 new ICC cases last year valued at a record $102bn, while the overall number of pending cases also a hit a record high of $354bn. New disputes registered in 2024 ranged from just under $10k to $53bn, with more than a third of cases involving disputed amounts of $3m or less.

Nicolas Bouchardie, a partner at White & Case, said the ICC report was consistent with the findings of the 2025 Queen Mary/White & Case survey, “which confirm that the ICC rules remain the preferred rules for practitioners and users of international arbitration worldwide”.

The construction, engineering and energy sectors continued to dominate, comprising 44% of the ICC’s overall caseload, which Bouchardie called “an unsurprising trend given the ongoing surge in infrastructure development and the rise in energy-related disputes in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine”.

The ICC’s international influence was marked by 2,392 parties from 136 jurisdictions participating. Europe remained the dominant region, with nearly 40% of all parties, followed by the Americas at 30%. Notably, parties from Latin America and the Caribbean set a record for ICC disputes, accounting for 21% of all parties, up from 14.5% last year.

Asia-Pacific parties represented 22% of the caseload, with China leading regional participation, both from the mainland and Hong Kong, followed by India, Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. The Middle East contributed 9% of all parties, with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar among the top nationalities, while Africa accounted for 8%.

Appointments and confirmations of ICC arbitrators reflected that international diversity, with arbitrators from 91 nationalities and appointments spanning 107 cities in 62 countries. European arbitrators received the most appointments (57%), followed by those from the Americas (27.5%), Asia-Pacific (12.5%) and Africa (4%).

Women represented almost 29% of arbitrator confirmations and appointments. The proportion of women acting as sole arbitrators or tribunal presidents increased to 43% and 36% respectively, up from 36% and 27% in 2020, with 20% of co-arbitrators confirmed or appointed being women. Direct appointments of women arbitrators by the ICC court rose to 46%, up from 41% the previous year.

Alexander Fessas, secretary general of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, said: “The 2024 statistics not only showcase the trust that businesses and states place in ICC arbitration but also our commitment to diversity, transparency and global engagement.”

He added: “The breadth and scale of participation and the value of disputes reinforce ICC arbitration’s standing as the forum of choice for resolving the world’s most significant commercial conflicts.”

Craig Tevendale, head of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s London international arbitration team, argued the ICC report was “a good reminder of the prominence and exportability of English law in international arbitration”.

Tevendale said: “Parties chose English law as the governing law in 15% of cases, an English seat in approximately 11% of cases, and... the UK is also the most represented nationality amongst arbitrators – 13% of all confirmations and appointments.”

Tevendale added that the ICC’s expedited procedure, which saw 152 new cases registered in 2024, underscores ICC arbitration “as being time and cost-efficient for lower-value disputes”.

Bouchardie agreed, suggesting increasing the current $3m threshold: “[This] would allow more cases to benefit from the expedited procedure, offering greater efficiency and reduced costs, and thereby addressing some of the key concerns consistently raised by users of international arbitration.”