ICC Arbitration Statistics: The African Perspective

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published its 2025 arbitration and ADR statistics, confirming that with 894 new cases registered, 2025 ranks among the top three years in ICC history for new cases and sets an all time record for the number of cases pending at year end. For our in-depth review and analysis of this information, please see our blog post here.

Of note is what these statistics reveal about practices and potential emerging trends in the African context. Notwithstanding the continued development and growth of African arbitral institutions in recent years, the data confirms that, at least for now, many African parties are still resolving their disputes in non-African seats and under the auspices of non-African institutions like the ICC.

African parties

• 147 African parties accounted for 5.8% of the total party population, a slight decrease from 2024 (194 parties, representing 8% of the total). Close to 10% of newly registered cases involved at least one African party, demonstrating the ICC's continued relevance as a forum for African disputes. 
• Drawn from 34 African countries, the breadth of party representation reflects a genuinely continent-wide engagement rather than one concentrated in a handful of dominant economies.
• The proportion of States and state-owned entities among African parties remains consistently high. Both North Africa (17.5%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (16.8%) recorded proportions materially higher than every other region worldwide, the next highest being Central and South-East Europe at 10.4%, with North America the lowest at 1.3%.

African seats

• The persistent underrepresentation of African jurisdictions as seats of arbitration remains a defining feature of the data. African seats were selected in approximately 2% of cases, with 14 seats across 7 countries, despite African parties accounting for 5.8% of the total party population. This disparity underscores the continued preference for non-African seats even in disputes with a clear African dimension, reflected by the global preference for and dominance of Paris (82 cases) and London (78 cases) as seats for ICC arbitration. 
• There are, however, some tentative indicators that parties are becoming increasingly comfortable with African seats, especially in jurisdictions who have developed dedicated arbitration infrastructure and updated legislation. For example, South Africa led all African countries with four ICC arbitrations seated by party agreement, followed by Kenya and Algeria with three apiece. 

African arbitrators

• The data shows that 73 appointments were made to arbitrators with African nationality, from 15 different African countries. This represents a marked increase from 58 such appointments in 2024, representing approximately 5% of all confirmations and appointments across 93 jurisdictions worldwide. 
• Set against the 147 African parties who appeared in cases during the year, the representation of African arbitrators on ICC tribunals remains disproportionately low. The upward trajectory in appointments is, however, encouraging and consistent with the ICC Court's stated commitment to increasing tribunal diversity.

African governing laws

• African governing laws featured in approximately 4.3% of newly registered cases in 2025, spanning 20 African countries. Algerian law was the most frequently selected African governing law with six cases, while South African law led Sub-Saharan selections with four cases, followed by Ethiopian and Senegalese law with three cases each. 
• The persistent gap between African party participation (5.8%) and African governing law selection (approximately 4.3%) reflects a continued preference in cross border contracts for non-African laws, most commonly English law. As African legal frameworks mature and experienced arbitrators qualified in African jurisdictions gain greater prominence, there is scope for African governing laws to feature more prominently in international commercial contracts involving African parties.