Investor-state cases
Investor-state and commercial arbitration compared
Short answer
- Known treaty-based ISDS cases
- 1,463 as of 31 December 2025 (UNCTAD) 5
- New known ISDS cases in 2025
- At least 56 5
- ICSID cases registered
- 1,118 as of 30 June 2026 2
- ICSID cases based on bilateral investment treaties
- 58% of all ICSID cases 2
- SCC new cases in 2025
- 213, an example of a commercial institution 6
- UNCITRAL Transparency Rules
- Effective 1 April 2014 4
Who the parties are
ICSID jurisdiction covers a legal dispute arising directly out of an investment between a Contracting State, or a designated subdivision or agency, and a national of another Contracting State 1. One side is always a State or State entity, and the claimant is a foreign investor.
Commercial arbitration rests on an agreement to arbitrate disputes about a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not 3. The Model Law treats an arbitration as international where, for example, the parties have their places of business in different States 3.
Where consent comes from
In commercial cases, consent is the arbitration agreement in the contract or a later submission agreement 3.
In investor-state cases, the State often gives consent in advance in a treaty or an investment law. ICSID data for all its cases show the basis of consent was a bilateral investment treaty in 58%, a contract in 15%, the Energy Charter Treaty in 10% and an investment law in 7% 2. Other treaties accounted for 5%, NAFTA 3%, USMCA 1% and CAFTA-DR 1% 2. A State may require investors to exhaust local remedies as a condition of its consent 1.
Which law the tribunal applies
An ICSID tribunal applies the rules of law the parties agreed 1. Without agreement, it applies the law of the State party to the dispute, including its conflict rules, and applicable rules of international law 1.
How public the case is
ICSID does not publish an award without the consent of the parties 1. For treaty-based cases under UNCITRAL rules, the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency, effective 1 April 2014, set procedures for making information on investor-state arbitrations publicly available 4. The Mauritius Convention on Transparency, adopted on 10 December 2014 and in force since 18 October 2017, lets treaty parties apply those rules to treaties concluded before 1 April 2014 4. The UN Secretary-General performs the repository function through the UNCITRAL secretariat, which runs the Transparency Registry 4.
The 2013 version of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules added the transparency rules for treaties concluded on or after 1 April 2014 8.
How awards are enforced
ICSID Convention awards are enforced in each Contracting State as if they were a final court judgment 1. That does not override the law on State immunity from execution 1. Most commercial awards, and investor-state awards made outside ICSID, are enforced under the New York Convention, which lets courts refuse on a closed list of grounds 7.
Side by side
| Feature | Investor-state (ICSID) | Commercial (Model Law seat) |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | State or State entity and a foreign national 1 | Parties to an arbitration agreement 3 |
| Consent | Treaty, law or contract, 58% of ICSID cases via bilateral treaties 2 | Arbitration agreement on a defined legal relationship 3 |
| Court review | No appeal or other remedy outside the Convention 1 | Setting aside at the seat 3 |
| Enforcement | As a final judgment of a Contracting State's courts 1 | New York Convention 7 |
| Scale | 1,463 known treaty-based cases to 31 December 2025 5 | 213 new SCC cases in 2025, one institution only 6 |
Common questions
Can a company bring an arbitration claim against a country?
Yes, if the State consented, for example in a treaty. ICSID covers disputes between a Contracting State and a national of another Contracting State 1.
How many investor-state cases are there?
UNCTAD counts 1,463 known treaty-based cases as of 31 December 2025 5. It says some arbitrations are fully confidential, so the real number is likely higher 5.
Is investor-state arbitration public?
More often than commercial cases. UNCITRAL transparency rules apply to many treaty cases 4, and ICSID publishes awards with consent 1.
Which treaties are most used at ICSID?
Bilateral investment treaties, in 58% of all ICSID cases 2.
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
- ICSID: Convention, Regulations and Rules, ICSID/15/Rev. 3 (July 2022)
- ICSID: The ICSID Caseload, Statistics, Issue 2026-2
- UNCITRAL: UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985, With amendments as adopted in 2006 (2008)
- UNCITRAL: United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (New York, 2014) (the "Mauritius Convention on Transparency")
- UNCTAD: Update on investor-State arbitrations: 400 cases filed under investment treaties since 2020 (1 April 2026)
- SCC Arbitration Institute: Statistics 2025
- United Nations Treaty Collection: Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, done at New York on 10 June 1958, certified true copy
- UNCITRAL: UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules
Related
- ICSID explained
ICSID is the World Bank Group centre for investment disputes. Its Convention, members, rules, caseload and outcomes from its own statistics.
- UNCITRAL rules and the Permanent Court of Arbitration
UNCITRAL writes arbitration rules and model laws. The PCA administers cases, often under those rules. Versions, roles and the PCA's 2025 caseload.
- How investor-state cases end
ICSID data on how investor-state arbitrations end: settlement, discontinuance, tribunal decisions, damages and annulment, with UNCTAD case totals.
- 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.
- Enforcing awards under the New York Convention
How the 1958 New York Convention makes foreign arbitral awards enforceable in 172 States, the documents needed and the closed list of refusal grounds.