Albares agrees with legal sector to promote international arbitration in Spanish

The agreement aims to promote international arbitration in Spanish, improve coordination among parties, consolidate Madrid as a hub for Ibero-American arbitration ahead of the Ibero-American Summit to be held in Spain's capital, support the dissemination of studies in this field and support training projects for Ibero-American lawyers as well as university arbitration competitions in Spanish.

During the event, which he inaugurated, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation emphasised that "steady progress is being made to ensure that the economic weight of Spanish is directly related to the use of the Spanish language in international litigation".

The results of the report "Uso del idioma español en arbitraje internacional 2025 (Use of the Spanish Language in International Arbitration 2025)" were also presented at the event. The report was produced by the Global Observatory for the Spanish Language in collaboration with the CEIA and the Ministry. According to data from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, awards issued in Spanish under ICC-administered arbitrations over the past ten years accounted for between 4.26% and 8.16% of the total, while the proportion of cases the applicable law of which is in Spanish is higher (ranging from 12.74% to 16.37% in the same period). This indicates significant growth potential if Spanish-speaking parties commit to the goal of increasing the use of Spanish in arbitration.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has long worked with other Governments and the Ibero-American legal sector to launch various initiatives to promote the use of Spanish in international organisations and courts, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT).

As a result of this work, Spanish was recognised as an official language of the HCCH in 2024, and a multilateral process has begun to have Spanish recognised as an official language at the ICJ in The Hague. In the other bodies, the use of Spanish is steadily increasing in daily activities and communications.

Arbitration in Spanish is strategically important as it supports economic activity and legal certainty both in Ibero-American countries and globally. Arbitration helps promote investment and international trade by fostering respect for the rule of law and the trust necessary for economic activity, and it provides an effective mechanism for resolving disputes.

For images of the event, click here.

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