A new deep dive report from the SCC Arbitration Institute examines disputes involving parties from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania between 2015 and 2025. Drawing on 80 cases and perspectives from leading regional practitioners, the report explores a growing and diverse caseload, the characteristics that distinguish Baltic users, and the SCC’s role as a neutral forum for their commercial disputes.

A growing regional user community

The Baltic states represent an increasingly important part of the SCC’s caseload. The report records 24 cases involving Baltic parties in 2015–2019 and 56 in 2020–2025, with annual registrations reaching a peak of 16 in 2024.

These disputes extend well beyond the Swedish-Baltic commercial relationship. Of the 80 cases examined, 60 involved at least one non-Baltic counterparty, with counterparties drawn from at least 21 non-Baltic jurisdictions. Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom were among the most frequently represented, alongside countries as varied as Brazil, Colombia, and Kazakhstan.

Caroline Falconer, Secretary General of the SCC Arbitration Institute, describes a user community whose engagement goes beyond growing case numbers:

What is striking about the Baltic caseload is not only its growth but its sophistication. Parties are choosing the SCC across a wide range of sectors, governing laws and procedural formats, and doing so with a confidence in the institution that is reflected in the data.

Energy, construction and a diverse commercial caseload

Energy was the largest sector in the Baltic caseload, accounting for 19 cases, followed by construction and real estate with 18, and retail and consumer products with 15. Automotive, manufacturing, financial services and life sciences also featured, reflecting the breadth of commercial activity across the three Baltic states.

The aggregate recorded amount in dispute was approximately EUR 1.85 billion. A single Lithuanian energy case, valued at approximately EUR 981 million, accounted for a substantial share of that total. Excluding this case, the remaining 72 cases with recorded positive values totalled approximately EUR 865 million, with a median disputed value of EUR 2.83 million.

A neutral seat, with a choice of governing law

One of the report’s distinctive findings is the combination of a strong preference for Stockholm as the seat of arbitration and frequent use of Baltic substantive law. Stockholm was the seat in 91 per cent of cases where a seat was recorded. Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian law together governed half of the cases where governing law was recorded, while Swedish law was the single most common choice, at 38 per cent.

The report highlights how these choices work together: parties can select a neutral international forum while retaining their home-country law to govern the substance of the dispute. This flexibility is an important feature of the SCC’s offer to Baltic businesses and their counterparties.

English was the language of proceedings in 94 per cent of cases, underlining the international character of the caseload.

Procedures for different commercial needs

Ordinary arbitrations accounted for the majority of Baltic cases, alongside eight emergency arbitrator applications and four expedited arbitrations. The dataset also included a UNCITRAL arbitration and a mediation.

For the 61 cases with both referral and award dates recorded, the average time from referral to award was 12.6 months, with a median of 10 months. These figures were broadly consistent with the SCC’s general caseload.

Accessibility extends to the contracting stage. SCC model dispute resolution clauses are available in Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian, enabling businesses to incorporate SCC clauses into contracts drafted in their own language.

A regional relationship with an international outlook

The report places its findings within the wider Swedish-Baltic commercial relationship and the development of the region’s arbitration community. Long-standing trade and investment ties sit alongside increasingly international legal practices and a new generation of practitioners active in cross-border proceedings.

As regional commercial integration deepens, the report identifies a continuing role for neutral, efficient dispute resolution. For Baltic businesses and their advisers, it offers an evidence-based perspective on how parties use the SCC across sectors, legal systems and commercial relationships.