Highlights of 2025

Development of the DIS Regulation Framework 

At the regulatory level, 2025 marked an important step forward. We started the year off athletically: with the implementation of the new 2025 DIS Sport Arbitration Rules (DIS-SportSchO) effective 1 January 2025. Their improved alignment with the DIS Rules, essential sport-specific features as well as the increased transparency of case management practices will give athletes stronger opportunities to enforce their rights.

Alongside these procedural enhancements, DIS has updated its Guidelines for Reimbursement of Arbitrators’ Expenses and adjusted the amounts to reflect the market developments.

In addition, the DIS Arbitration Rules and model clauses were translated into Chinese, underscoring our commitment to international outreach and user-friendly arbitration “made in Germany.” 

Beyond rulemaking and accessibility, this year we have continued to focus on case management efficiency. As part of this commitment, we launched our DIS Arbitrator Database to ensure fair and informed choices for arbitrators.

Conferences and Further Educational Events

These substantive developments were complemented by an extensive conference and education programme. Organized jointly with the publishing house C.H. Beck, the 21st Petersberg Arbitration Days 2025, whose overarching  theme was Climate Change and Renewable Energies, delivered insights into the legal framework and practical particularities of disputes in the energy sector.

Continuing this dialogue on emerging issues, our DIS Spring Conference 2025 focused on another highly relevant topic -The Revolution of Arbitration – Is Artificial Intelligence a Gamechanger?. The conference drew over 350 participants and was a platform for complex discussions around the transformative impact of artificial intelligence in dispute resolution.

Later in the year, arbitration practitioners from Germany, Europe and beyond gathered at the Berlin Dispute Resolution Days to discuss the role of arbitration amid global challenges and the rapid transformation of the legal landscape. Our annual Autumn Conference was our largest edition yet, drawing 500 participants from 18 countries. Besides the Autumn Conference, the Berlin Dispute Resolution Days were complemented by more than 40 satellite events including a presentation on the new German Commercial Courts and enriched by formats such as the Humboldt Conference and the DIS40 Autumn Conference. 

In addition to these flagship events, we organized the DIS/BMJV conference in Karlsruhe, which met with strong interest.

Throughout the year, more than ten Lunch DIScussions took place to keep participants informed of the most relevant topics on arbitration. Moreover, DIS’s role as an intellectual hub was reinforced by events such as the Book Sprint at DIS Office in Bonn, which brought together leading international ADR experts to collaborate on their work.

DIS further advanced its educational mission by hosting an advanced mediation workshop for participants of the 32nd Vis Moot in May and, together with the IRZ, organising a Drafting School on International Contract Law and Dispute Resolution for Ukrainian students and coaches in Kraków in September 2025.

International Activities

Beyond Germany, we further expanded our international engagement. We continued to strengthen our international presence in 2025 through a number of strategic cooperations, notably the cooperation with the Japan Association of Arbitrators and the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center SVAMC.

The number of our bilateral arbitration groups increased to 13 with new partnerships added throughout the year, including CAM-CCBC in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the Finland Arbitration Institute in Helsinki, and the German-Norwegian Arbitration Group.

This international focus was also reflected in our presence at various global arbitration weeks. Throughout the year, we organized side events in Canada, France, Lithuania, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, UK and USA that incorporated wind energy-related dispute panels and other arbitration-focused sessions. 

DIS also continued to support major international events and conferences, inter alia the Belgrade Open Pre-Moot, one of the world’s largest pre-moots, which this year welcomed 61 teams from 31 countries and more than 250 arbitrators.

Building on these activities, towards the end of 2025 the DIS co-hosted the Four-Country Conference (Vierländerkonferenz) in cooperation with arbitral institutions and associations from Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland. 

We were also proud to announce the first publication of a German case in the CLOUT (Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts) database. It was published in all official UN languages to make internationally relevant German arbitration-related decisions available to a global audience. 

Regional Engagement and Practice Groups

Complementing its international outreach, DIS also remained firmly anchored at the regional level. The DIS Regional Groups in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Rhine/Ruhr continued to play a central role in fostering professional exchange within the arbitration community. The same applied to the numerous events organized by the DIS Industry Groups.

In 2025, the DIS Practice Group Settlement marked the finalization of its work on early dispute resolution by publishing a comprehensive Final Report, which explores the distinctive features of the DIS arbitration rules in depth, reviews global approaches to settlement facilitation, explores the complementary role of ADR mechanisms, and provides practical guidance.

DIS Organisation and Governance Developments 

These activities were underpinned by important organisational developments. 2025 brought about significant changes to the DIS, notably within the DIS Secretariat, the Appointing Committee of the DIS, and most importantly, the DIS Board. On 10 December 2025, the General Assembly elected a new Board consisting of 13 members. 

Against this backdrop of a dynamic and productive year, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you – our members, colleagues, and friends – for their invaluable contributions and participation in our initiatives and activities. We look forward to continuing working together in 2026!
 

Ramona Schardt, Kseniia Stepanova

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