This IIA Issues Note highlights recent trends in investor–State arbitration cases brought based on international investment agreements (IIAs).

Highlights

• Investor–State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases under IIAs reached 1,401 by the end of 2024. Most of the cases – about 75% – arose in the past 15 years. About 60 per cent of all ISDS cases involved damages claims of $100 million and higher, including 143 cases in which investors sought more than $1 billion. The past decade shows a shift towards higher damages claims and awards.


• In 2024, investors initiated 58 arbitrations against States. More than half of the cases related to extractive activities and energy supply. About 55 per cent of them were brought against developing countries. Developed-country claimants initiated most of the new cases with about 80 per cent.


• Six cases in 2024 involved the mining of critical minerals required for the energy transition, such as copper, lithium, titanium and zinc. From 1987 to 2024, at least 139 cases – about 10 per cent of all cases – related to different categories of critical minerals, including 51 cases relating to critical minerals required for the energy transition.


• Claimants filed 13 fossil fuel-related cases in 2024 and initiated 6 proceedings concerning investment in the renewable energy sector. Overall, investors have filed at least 249 cases related to fossil fuel activities, and 129 cases concerning renewable energy investments.

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