TEST New data released by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that more than 400 cases investor–State arbitration cases were initiated under investment treaties between 2020 to 2025. The updated information is publicly accessible through UNCTAD’s Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator, which now includes a total of 1,463 treaty-based investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases as of 31 December 2025.

The ISDS Navigator covers treaty-based cases administered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) as well as cases conducted outside of ICSID. UNCTAD has added new cases, decisions issued by ISDS tribunals, and arbitrator appointments compiled from public sources and specialized reporting services.

This update will help policymakers and stakeholders stay informed about developments in investor–State disputes under international investment agreements (IIAs) and support ongoing efforts to calibrate approaches to ISDS, an essential component of broader reforms of the IIA regime.

Key findings of this update

• Claimants brought at least 56 publicly known arbitration cases against States in 2025 pursuant to IIAs.
• Since 2022, the annual ISDS case filings have stayed below the levels recorded from 2015 to 2021.
• By the end of 2025, the cumulative number of known treaty-based cases had reached 1,463.

A detailed analysis of recent ISDS trends will be presented in the World Investment Report 2026, to be published later this year on unctad.org.

Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator database (click here)

About the ISDS Navigator (click here)