The International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (ICAC) concluded 2025 with historic figures: 923 new claims, 337 of which were international. This is the second highest result in the institution’s entire history, second only to the indicators of the distant year 1981. The growth compared to 2024 amounted to almost 70%.
Experts explain this not simply by a recovery in business activity, but to a tectonic shift in the contractual practices of Russian businesses.
Igor Sokolov, Senior Associate at the Dispute Resolution of SL LEGAL, explains this as the influence of two factors. First and foremost, this is due to an overall increase in the number of economic disputes, both domestically and internationally. Secondly, companies have started to use ICAC clauses more frequently due to the forced abandonment of other popular European arbitration forums. In international contracts involving Russian parties concluded after 2020, ICAC was often specified as the sole option or as a possible alternative to the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) or the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Sokolov notes.
Colleagues also agree that this is a systemic trend, with Russian parties actively replacing old clauses in favor of friendly jurisdictions and domestic centers – such as ICAC, RSPP, and RAC.
Interestingly, the geography of disputes is changing: 29% of the parties represent Europe, 24% – the Middle East, and 22% – Asia. Partners from China, Turkey, the UAE, and Belarus most frequently litigate at ICAC. However, as Igor Sokolov summarises, “...the quantitative growth of cases has not yet led to qualitative changes. The most expensive claims still rarely end up at ICAC.” In most cases, the claim amount ranged from USD 10,000 to USD 200,000.
A detailed review of the statistics and expert comments can be found via the link >>.