DIS Statistics 2023: A new milestone year for DISpute Resolution Services

In 2023, the DIS administered 191 proceedings of which 175 were commercial arbitrations, a plus of 27 cases compared to 2022 and an all-time record. 163 cases (85 %) were arbitration proceedings under the DIS Arbitration Rules, 12 (6 %) DIS/Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) arbitration proceedings, 5 (3 %) arbitration proceedings at the German Court of Arbitration for Sport and 11 (6% ) ADR and other cases. These impressive figures once again illustrate a growing demand for dispute resolution services provided by the DIS.

The total value in dispute of all proceedings in 2023 amounted to EUR 2,864,528,790.00, which also is a slight increase compared to previous years.

The DIS is not only the leading institution for domestic arbitration proceedings in Germany, the number of arbitration proceedings with international participation also remains at a consistently high level. At least one non-German party was involved in 40 % of the proceedings. Non-German parties were involved on both sides in 5% of these cases. Arbitrations filed in 2023 involved parties from 35 different countries.

31% of the arbitrations administered by the DIS in 2023 were conducted in English – a slight decrease in comparison to 2022 with 35 % of arbitrations conducted in English. German remains the most used language of DIS arbitrations – in 2023 it was used in 69 % of the cases.

In 2023, DIS arbitration proceedings had their seat in 22 different cities. Munich (27 %), Frankfurt am Main (17 %), Düsseldorf and Hamburg (each 9 %) were the most popular seats of arbitration.

In 2023, parties were again able to take advantage of the provisions of the DIS Arbitration Rules allowing for multi-party proceedings: Out of 175 submitted arbitrations (including IHK proceedings) 48 (27 %) involved multiple parties. In 13 cases multiple claimants commenced the arbitration whereas multiple parties were on the side of respondents in 31 cases. The number of cases with multiple parties on both sides is 4. These numbers again demonstrate the continuing growing interest of users in multi-party DIS proceedings.

Noteworthy is also the distribution of arbitrations across more than 40 different industries and sectors in 2023. The main areas of focus included energy, automotive, construction, healthcare, IT, mechanical engineering and real estate.

Again only 5 sports arbitrations were initiated at the German Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Last but not least, the statistics for the year 2023 show how far the DIS has come in terms of gender diversity in arbitral appointments. 24 % of all arbitrators in DIS administered arbitration proceedings were women. That is almost a quarter of female arbitrators and an all-time record for the DIS.

The DIS, and especially the Appointing Committee of the DIS, have significantly increased the proportion of female arbitrators in DIS arbitrations. In 2023, 54 % of arbitrators appointed by the DIS were women, again an all-time record. Of all three-member tribunals constituted in 2023, 47% were all male and 2% were all female.