The SCC Arbitration Institute has published its new report on arbitrator appointments in SCC cases during the period 2020-2024. Building on its earlier review of the 2015-2019 period, the report examines 1,107 appointments across 854 registered cases, involving 436 individual arbitrators, and records significant progress on gender diversity, sustained geographical breadth, and a broadening of the arbitrator pool.

Why arbitrator appointments matter

One of the most fundamental questions in any arbitration concerns the appointment of the arbitrator(s). A party’s right to choose an adjudicator is a hallmark of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, rooted in the principle of party autonomy. For many parties, this is a primary reason for including an arbitration clause in their contracts in the first place.

It is precisely because of this importance that the SCC takes its role in the arbitrator appointment process so seriously, whether acting under the SCC Rules or as appointing authority, and whether in commercial or investment treaty arbitrations. The SCC’s unofficial mantra sums it up: “the right person for the right mandate.”

This 2026 Report is the latest expression of the SCC’s commitment to transparency and to raising the question of diversity and inclusion within international trade and dispute resolution. It draws direct comparisons with the 2020 Report, which covered the period 2015 to 2019, to assess the current state of play and to identify meaningful trends.

A landmark improvement in gender diversity

The headline finding of the 2026 Report is a substantial rise in the proportion of female arbitrator appointments. Across the 2020-2024 period, 34 per cent of all appointments were female, compared with 20 per cent in the period 2015 to 2019. This represents an increase of 14 percentage points and a relative rise of 70 per cent. While full gender parity across all appointers remains a work in progress, the trajectory is unmistakably positive.
Particularly noteworthy is the progress recorded in the SCC’s own appointments. Of the approximately 33 per cent of all appointments made by the SCC during the period, 51 per cent were women, up from 30 per cent in the previous period. The SCC has, in other words, achieved and consistently maintained gender parity in its own appointments throughout the period.

Progress is also evident in party appointments, where the proportion of female appointees rose from 14 per cent in the 2015-2019 period to 26 per cent in 2020-2024, reaching 31 per cent in 2023 alone.

Looking at appointments by role, the proportion of women appointed as sole arbitrator or chairperson rose from 29 per cent to 44 per cent between the two periods, while the proportion of women appointed as co-arbitrators increased from 14 per cent to 32 per cent, a relative rise of 129 per cent. These are substantial strides forward in a relatively short space of time.

Parties remain the primary drivers of diversity

A central message of the 2026 Report is that arbitral institutions, however committed, can only do so much. The parties were responsible for 62 per cent of all 1,107 appointments during the period, a ratio that has remained broadly consistent over the past decade. The SCC accounted for approximately 33 per cent of appointments, with a discernible upward trend in more recent years: 37 per cent in 2023 and 39 per cent in 2024. Co-arbitrators were responsible for the remaining 5 per cent.

However, the SCC exercises a particularly significant role in certain categories. The data shows that the SCC is responsible for appointing approximately 70 per cent of sole arbitrators and between 50 and 60 per cent of chairpersons of three-member Arbitral Tribunals, positioning it as a meaningful force for expanding the pool of arbitrators and promoting diversity in the appointments it controls directly. Yet the report is clear: the heavy lifting must largely be done by the parties and their representatives if progress is to be truly effective and sustainable in the long term.

Geographical diversity: arbitrators from 36 jurisdictions

The 2026 Report confirms the SCC’s status as a genuinely international arbitral institution. Arbitrators appointed during the period came from 36 different jurisdictions. The top three nationalities were Swedish, British, and Finnish, broadly consistent with the findings of the 2020 Report, where the top three were Swedish, British, and German.

Swedish arbitrators represented 50 per cent of the total, reflecting the prevalence of Swedish law as the applicable governing law in both domestic and many international cases. Swedish law was applicable in 89 per cent of domestic cases and in 51 per cent of international cases, a reflection of Sweden’s longstanding reputation as a neutral jurisdiction and its strong commitment to the rule of law. Moreover, the content of Swedish contract law for business-to-business relations has been described as corresponding to 98 per cent with the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC).

Approximately 48 per cent of all analysed cases were international in character. This proportion was most pronounced under the SCC Arbitration Rules, where 57 per cent of cases were international, with the share rising steadily from 56 per cent in 2020 to 61 per cent in 2024. The SCC’s caseload is also linguistically diverse: English accounted for approximately 49 per cent of all cases administered under the SCC Rules, with Swedish, Russian, and Finnish also featuring.

Repeat appointments: broadening the pool

The 2026 Report records a decrease in the concentration of repeat appointments when compared with the previous period. Of the 436 individual arbitrators in the dataset, 62 per cent were appointed only once. A further 25 per cent were appointed between two and four times, 9 per cent between five and nine times, and only 4 per cent were appointed ten or more times during the five-year period.

The maximum number of appointments made by the SCC to a single arbitrator decreased slightly, from nine in the period 2015-2019 to eight in the period 2020-2024. Notably, the most frequently appointed arbitrator during the 2020-2024 period was a woman, with a total of 40 appointments, 33 of which were made by the parties themselves. This reflects the broader pattern observed in the report: repeat appointments are driven primarily by parties rather than the SCC.

Age diversity: renewal and range

The average age of arbitrators appointed in SCC cases during the period was 53, with a median age of 51. The median age for men was 55, while for women it was 47, reflecting the younger profile of female arbitrators entering and advancing within the pool. The age range spanned from 31 to 81, with the most common age range falling between 45 and 61.

Clear differences emerge when age is analysed by appointer. SCC-appointed arbitrators were the youngest group, with a median age of 47 and an average age of 48.6. Party-appointed arbitrators were considerably older, with a median age of 55 and an average of 56.5, while chairs appointed by co-arbitrators were older still, with an average age of 59.1. These patterns illustrate how the SCC, through its own appointments, actively contributes to renewing and widening the arbitrator pool.

Arbitrator fees: closing the gap

In Standard Arbitrations, average fees increased substantially for both genders. The average fee for women rose from EUR 27,665 to EUR 43,891 (an increase of 58.6 per cent), while the average fee for men rose from EUR 33,268 to EUR 45,489 (an increase of 36.7 per cent). As a result, the average gender fee gap narrowed markedly, from approximately 20 per cent in 2015-2019 to approximately 4 per cent in 2020-2024.

The picture on median fees is more nuanced: the median fee for women rose from EUR 14,364 to EUR 28,864, while the median fee for men rose from EUR 16,465 to EUR 34,770, widening the median gender gap from approximately 15 per cent to approximately 20 per cent. In Expedited Arbitrations, however, the pattern was reversed: women commanded a higher median fee (EUR 13,966 compared to EUR 13,610) and a substantially higher average fee (EUR 23,794 compared to EUR 16,880).

Fees also rose across all age bands between the two periods, by 64.9 per cent for arbitrators under 40, 102.8 per cent for those aged 40 to 49, 133.0 per cent for those aged 50 to 59, and 105.4 per cent for those aged 60 and above. This broad-based growth reflects both revisions to the Schedule of Costs in the SCC Rules and shifts in the size and complexity of cases resolved during the period.

Proceeding	Role	Gender	Median	Average
Standard Arbitration	Chair / Sole arbitrator	Female	€28,864	€43,891
Standard Arbitration	Chair / Sole arbitrator	Male	€34,770	€45,489
Expedited Arbitration	Sole arbitrator	Female	€13,966	€23,794
Expedited Arbitration	Sole arbitrator	Male	€13,610	€16,880

Investing in the next generation

The SCC does not merely measure diversity; it actively invests in it. Together with the Swedish Arbitration Association, the SCC offers two principal training courses for arbitrators: the Arbitrator Training Programme, conducted in Swedish and aimed at expanding the Swedish-speaking arbitration corps; and the Diploma Course for International Arbitrators, conducted in English and designed for experienced practitioners with at least ten years of dispute resolution practice and bar admission outside Sweden. A one-day introductory course is also available as an accessible entry point for practitioners interested in learning more arbitration.

The SCC is represented on the boards of Young Arbitrators Sweden (YAS) and the Swedish Women in Arbitration Network (SWAN), and supports Open Arbitration, an initiative focused on promoting the inclusion of underrepresented groups within the field. Members of the SCC Secretariat and Board also serve as mentors to younger practitioners through arrangements including Young ICCA and the Moot Alumni Association.

Looking ahead

The 2026 Report demonstrates significant and meaningful progress across all diversity markers examined. The SCC has achieved gender parity in its own appointments, the arbitrator pool continues to represent a wide range of nationalities and ages, and the overall proportion of women appointed has risen substantially. These are genuine achievements, and the SCC is proud of the role it has played in driving them.

Yet the report also serves as a clear reminder that the work is not finished. The parties, who account for the majority of all appointments, remain the most powerful force for change. The SCC calls on parties, legal counsel, and the wider arbitration community to continue raising the bar in their own appointing practices.

The SCC will continue to monitor and publish data on arbitrator appointments as part of its enduring commitment to transparency and inclusion. The objective, as always, remains clear: “the right person for the right mandate.”