The number of treaty-based investor–State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases has more than doubled in the past 10 years. There were fewer than 600 known ISDS cases at the end of 2013, against more than 1,300 at the end of 2023. In 2023 alone, claimants initiated at least 60 new arbitration cases.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued a new briefing note that provides facts and figures on the 1,332 ISDS cases brought under investment treaties until the end of 2023:

• Developing countries faced the majority of investor–State disputes, often brought by claimants from developed countries.
• About one third of total ISDS cases involve energy supply and extractive industries. These are the most frequent economic sectors underlying ISDS cases, followed by manufacturing, construction, and financial services.
• By the end of 2023, investors had filed a total of 235 fossil fuel-related cases and at least 123 ISDS proceedings arose in relation to the renewable energy sector.

As some arbitrations can be kept confidential, the actual number of filed arbitrations is likely higher.

UNCTAD collects information on treaty-based ISDS cases in its Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator, a free-of-charge database of all publicly known cases.

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