How arbitration works

Arbitration costs and who pays

Last checked 24 October 2026 · 10 sources

Short answer

Arbitration costs have two parts. One is the cost of the process, mainly tribunal fees and the institution's charges. The other is each party's own legal costs. The ICC charges a US$5,000 filing fee and sets administrative expenses on an ad valorem basis ⁷. ICSID's Schedule of Fees, effective 1 July 2023, sets a US$25,000 lodging fee and an annual charge of US$52,000 ¹⁰. ICSID does not base advances on the amount in dispute ². At the end, the tribunal decides how costs are borne, in ICSID cases as part of the award ³.

ICC filing fee: US$5,000, or US$6,000 where French VAT applies ⁷
ICSID lodging fee, request for arbitration: US$25,000, Schedule of Fees effective 1 July 2023 ¹⁰
ICSID annual administrative charge: US$52,000 ^10,2
ICSID arbitrator fee: US$500 per hour of work ²
CAS Court Office fee: CHF 1,000, non-refundable ⁴
LCIA median cost: US$117,653, cases with final awards from 1 January 2017 to 12 May 2024 ⁵

What counts as costs

Under Article 41(1) of the 2026 ICC Rules, the costs of the arbitration include the fees and expenses of the arbitrators ⁸.

The ICSID Convention lets the tribunal assess the expenses the parties incurred in connection with the proceedings. It then decides how and by whom those expenses, the tribunal's fees and ICSID's charges are paid. That decision forms part of the award (Article 61(2)) ³.

Official fees by institution

The ICSID figures for lodging fees and the annual charge come from the Schedule of Fees (2023), effective 1 July 2023, which ICSID's Cost of Proceedings page lists as its schedule ^10,2. The hourly fee and per diem are from the Cost of Proceedings page ².

ICC administrative expenses changed with the 2026 Rules. The 2021 Rules used scales effective from 1 January 2017, with US$5,000 for disputes up to US$50,000 and US$150,000 for disputes over US$500,000,000 ¹. ICC states the 2026 scales are lower for disputes under US$10 million and higher for larger disputes ⁹.

Institution	Fee	Amount
ICC ⁷	Filing fee with the Request ⁷	US$5,000, or US$6,000 with French VAT ⁷
ICSID ¹⁰	Lodging fee, request for arbitration ¹⁰	US$25,000 ¹⁰
ICSID ¹⁰	Lodging fee, application for annulment ¹⁰	US$25,000 ¹⁰
ICSID ¹⁰	Lodging fee, supplementary decision, rectification, interpretation or revision ¹⁰	US$10,000 ¹⁰
ICSID ¹⁰	Annual administrative charge ¹⁰	US$52,000 ¹⁰
ICSID ²	Arbitrator fee ²	US$500 per hour ²
ICSID ²	Arbitrator per diem when away from home overnight ²	US$900 per day ²
CAS ⁴	Court Office fee ⁴	CHF 1,000, non-refundable ⁴

Paying as the case goes

Institutions ask the parties for money in advance. At the ICC, Article 40 of the 2026 Rules says the Secretary General fixes the advance on costs by reference to the amount in dispute and the Schedule of Fees ⁸.

ICSID says its advance payments are not based on the amount in dispute. After the claimant's first advance, each party pays half of each advance, if the tribunal does not order or the parties do not agree otherwise. In annulment proceedings the applicant pays the full amount of each advance ².

ICSID's annual administrative charge is usually divided equally between the parties ².

Who pays at the end

Paying an advance does not settle who finally bears the cost. In ICSID cases, the tribunal decides this in the award, and the parties can agree otherwise ³.

At CAS, Rule R64.5 says the Panel determines which party bears the arbitration costs ⁴. Appeals against disciplinary decisions of international federations are free, apart from the CHF 1,000 Court Office fee (Rule R65.2) ⁴.

Published cost figures

Few institutions publish the total cost of their cases. The LCIA Annual Casework Report 2025, read here from a copy hosted by a law firm, cites a Costs and Duration Analysis of cases that reached a final award between 1 January 2017 and 12 May 2024. The median cost in that set was US$117,653 ⁵.

The LCIA report states that its costs were lower than the estimated costs of the other institutions it studied across almost all amounts in dispute. That is the LCIA's own comparison ⁵.

Help with costs in sports cases

CAS runs a legal aid system. In 2025 the ICAS Athletes' Commission issued 102 orders. It granted or partly granted 58 requests, including 49 under the Football Legal Aid Fund, and rejected 44 ⁶.

Common questions

How much is the ICC filing fee?

US$5,000 for each Request for Arbitration, or US$6,000 where French VAT applies, per the ICC Costs and Payment page ⁷.

How much does it cost to file at ICSID?

The Schedule of Fees effective 1 July 2023 sets a lodging fee of US$25,000 for a request for arbitration and for an application for annulment ¹⁰.

Does the losing party pay the costs in arbitration?

The tribunal decides. In ICSID cases it decides how and by whom costs are paid as part of the award ³. At CAS the Panel determines which party bears the arbitration costs ⁴.

How are ICSID advances split?

After the claimant's first advance, each party pays half of each advance, if the tribunal or the parties do not decide otherwise. In annulment cases the applicant pays the full advance ².

What does an LCIA arbitration cost?

The LCIA reports a median cost of US$117,653 for cases with final awards from 1 January 2017 to 12 May 2024 ⁵.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@arbitrationawardsdata.com.

Sources

Third-party funding in arbitration
What third-party funding means, the disclosure rules at the ICC and ICSID, and the laws that permit it in Singapore and Hong Kong.
ICC arbitration explained
How arbitration under the 2026 ICC Rules works, what the ICC Court does, the main stages and fees, what changed from 2021, and 2025 caseload figures.
ICSID explained
ICSID is the World Bank Group centre for investment disputes. Its Convention, members, rules, caseload and outcomes from its own statistics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport explained
How CAS appeals and ordinary cases work, the time limits and fees in the CAS Code, and the 2025 caseload from the ICAS annual report.
How long arbitration takes
Time limits in the ICC, CAS and ICSID rules, the LCIA's published median duration, and the dated stages of one ICSID case record.