ICSID's latest Caseload Statistics offer a snapshot of the investor-State dispute landscape for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. While the broader picture is one of continued growth and stability, the data reveals several notable developments for participants in the energy, construction and infrastructure sectors. We have identified key trends below.
- Steady growth despite a modest decline in new filings: New ICSID registrations fell slightly from 67 in FY2025 to 60 in FY2026. However, this remains well within the range of annual fluctuations seen in recent years and does not suggest any meaningful change in filing activity.
- Construction disputes remain a consistent feature: Construction disputes accounted for 7% of new ICSID cases in FY2026, down from 15% in FY2025. However, this remains within the range of historical yearly variations and construction's share of all registered ICSID cases has also remained stable at 10%, confirming the sector's continued importance in the ICSID caseload.
- Energy disputes continue to dominate: Energy-related disputes remained the largest source of new ICSID cases in 2026. Taken together, oil and gas, mining, and electric power and other energy sources accounted for 53% of new registrations, broadly in line with FY2025. While oil and gas and mining cases remained particularly prominent, together representing 43% of new filings, electric power and other energy disputes declined slightly from 12% in 2025 to 10% in 2026, continuing a gradual downward trend in new registrations observed over recent years. Although the composition of energy disputes has shifted, the sector continues to account for the largest share of both new and cumulative ICSID cases.
- Settlements, discontinuances and claim dismissals rise: The proportion of cases settled or otherwise discontinued increased from 21% in FY2025 to 37% in FY2026, reversing the steady decline seen in recent years. Claim dismissals likewise rose markedly, from 24% to 40%, while the proportion of awards resulting in no damages jumped from 51% to 70%. However, investment arbitration remains highly fact-sensitive, and the data simply underlines that outcomes turn on the strength and circumstances of individual cases. Further, a rise in settlements may equally reflect strong claims achieving favourable resolutions without the need for a final award.
- Treaty-based claims become more prominent: Bilateral investment treaties accounted for 62% of FY2026 registrations, up from 45% in FY2025, while Energy Charter Treaty cases increased from 6% to 10%. Claims founded on investment contracts fell from 21% to 8%. The latest cohort was markedly more treaty-based, although one year does not establish a structural shift. For participants in long-term energy and infrastructure projects, this reinforces the importance of considering treaty structuring and investment protection alongside the governing law and dispute resolution provisions of the project contracts themselves.
- Incremental gains in diversity: Gender diversity also continued to improve gradually. Women accounted for 31% of new appointments in FY2026, a figure largely unchanged from recent years but substantially higher than their 17% share of appointments across the ICSID caseload as a whole.
The latest ICSID statistics confirm that energy and infrastructure-related disputes remain at the heart of investor-State arbitration. While annual fluctuations in filings and outcomes are inevitable, the overall trends point to a growing and increasingly diverse caseload, with ICSID continuing to play a central role in resolving disputes arising from major projects and long-term investments.
For investors, States, contractors and project sponsors, the practical message is to consider investment protection at the outset and throughout the project lifecycle. Corporate structuring, treaty coverage, contractual dispute mechanisms and regulatory change can all become significant if a major project is disrupted.
