Associate - van den Berg Arbitration
The CEPANI Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 4 June 2026 in Brussels. The AGM presented a statistical overview of CEPANI's arbitration activity in 2025, followed by a broader institutional update. After the presentation of the key arbitration figures, participants were also guided through CEPANI's finances and accounting for 2025. The meeting then continued with announcements concerning new members, new Board appointments, the CEPANI Academic Prize, and the transition in the presidency.
Following the statistical overview, the General Meeting announced the induction of new CEPANI members: Constance Castres Saint-Martin, Quentin Muron, Stefan Rating, Charlotte Richard, and Oliver Stevens. It also announced the appointment of new Board members, Pia Sobrana Gennari Curlo and Olivier van der Haegen. The meeting conveyed a forward-looking message, expressing enthusiasm about working together and further strengthening CEPANI's role and impact in the years ahead.
A further highlight was the CEPANI Academic Prize, presented by the Chair of the Committee, Eric De Brabandere. Special thanks were extended to the members of the jury for their time and dedication, and sincere congratulations were offered to the winner, Dr. Ekaterina Oger Grivnova, for this well-deserved recognition.
The event also marked an important institutional transition, with the passing of the torch from Honorary President Benoît Kohl to the new President, Vanessa Foncke. A warm tribute was paid to Benoît for his commitment, leadership, and lasting contribution to CEPANI, alongside congratulations to Vanessa as she assumes this new role and begins the next chapter of CEPANI's development.
The statistical overview of CEPANI arbitration activity in 2025 showed a healthy and increasingly international caseload. The statistics highlighted positive diversity trends, a strong use of sole arbitrators, and a continued preference for English in proceedings, as further detailed below.
Case composition
In 2025, 53% of arbitrations were conducted with a sole arbitrator, while 47% were heard by arbitral tribunals composed of three arbitrators. In sole-arbitrator cases, 89% were appointed by the CEPANI Appointments Committee and 11% by the parties. For three-member tribunals, appointments were split evenly, with 50% of chairs appointed by the parties and 50% by the CEPANI Appointments Committee. 2025 also included one emergency arbitrator appointment and two replacements of arbitrators, with no challenge procedures reported.
Diversity trends
The statistics indicate a continued improvement in diversity among arbitrator appointments. In 2025, women accounted for 30% of appointed arbitrators, up from 23% in 2024. Of those women, 60% were appointed by the CEPANI Appointments Committee, while 40% were appointed directly by the parties. When looking only at appointments made by the CEPANI Appointments Committee, women represented 50% of appointments in 2025. The share of arbitrators under 40 years old was 18%. Of those younger arbitrators, 83% were appointed by the CEPANI Appointments Committee.
Party origin and language
The proceedings remained predominantly domestic, but with a meaningful international element. In 2025, 53% of cases involved only Belgian parties, 38% involved a Belgian and an international party, and 9% involved only international parties. Among the international parties, the most frequent were the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, with smaller numbers involving the United States, Sweden, Algeria, France, China, the Philippines, and Morocco. English was the most common language of proceedings at 47%, followed by Dutch at 38% and French at 15%.
Amounts in dispute
The caseload was materially weighted toward larger-value disputes. Cases under EUR 100,000 accounted for 15% of proceedings, while disputes above EUR 1 million represented 46% of the caseload, a marked increase compared with 37% in 2024. Mid-range disputes were spread across the other brackets, with 19% between EUR 100,000 and EUR 200,000, 12% between EUR 200,000 and EUR 500,000, 8% between EUR 500,000 and EUR 1 million, and 8% above EUR 10 million.
Duration of proceedings
The average duration of a CEPANI arbitration in 2025 was 19.5 months for ordinary proceedings and 10.5 months for expedited proceedings.
Overall impression
Taken together, the statistics suggest that CEPANI arbitration in 2025 was robust, increasingly international, and still efficient. The institution appears to be appointing a substantial number of sole arbitrators, handling a growing number of higher-value disputes, and making measurable progress on gender diversity.
Last but not least, we are happy to share the photos of this wonderful event with you. You can find them here: https://galerie.triptyque.be/cepaniga2026/
